Spectroscopic Variability of the Compact Planetary Nebula Hb 12

Abstract

We present the results of our new low-resolution spectroscopic observations of the young compact planetary nebula Hb 12 performed in 2011-2020 with SAI MSU telescopes. We have measured the intensities of more than 50 nebular emission lines in the spectral range λ3687-9532, detected interstellar absorption features, and conducted a search for absorptions belonging to the possible secondary component of the central star. The extinction coefficient has been estimated from the Balmer decrement to be c(Hβ)=1.15±0.07. The distance has been found by analyzing the interstellar extinction maps to be D ≈ 2400 pc. We have traced the history of the spectroscopic observations of Hb 12, beginning with the first spectra taken by Aller (1951) in 1945. We have detected a systematic increase in the relative intensities of the nebular [O III] λ4959 and λ5007 lines and a decrease in the relative intensity of the auroral [O III] λ4363 line, which has led to an increase in the observed flux ratio F (λ4959 + λ5007)/F (λ4363) by a factor of ∼4 from 1945 to the present time. The [O III]/[O II] line ratio F (λ4363)/F (λ3727 + λ3729) remains constant, suggesting that the degree of ionization, on average, for the nebula is invariable. The temperature of the exciting star has been estimated to be T ≈ 41 000 K. We conclude that a decrease in the electron temperature and, possibly, electron density in the [O III] line formation region is mainly responsible for the spectroscopic variability.