Simulated IR spectra of PN Hubble 12

Deep HST and CFHT observations of this nebula reveal three pairs of bipolar structures and an arc-shaped filament near the western waist of Hb 12. The existence of nested bipolar lobes together with the presence of H2 knots suggests that these structures originated from several mass-ejection events during the pre-PN phase.

To understand the intrinsic structures of Hb 12, a three-dimensional model enabling the visualisation of this PN at various orientations was constructed. The modelling results show that Hb 12 may resemble other nested hourglass nebulae, such as Hen 2-320 and M 2-9, suggesting that this type of PN may be common and the morphologies of PNs are not so diverse as is shown by their visual appearances. The infrared spectra show that this PN has a mixed chemistry.