<p>The central star is a hot DAO white dwarf. As far as I can tell, the numbers that are the most reliable are those from <a href="http://cdsads.u-strasbg.fr/abs/1999A%26A...350..101N" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Napiwotzki et al. (1999)</a>. They use a direct spectral fitting technique to estimate the surface gravity and effective temperature of the central white dwarf star. These are <span class="math-container">$g = 10^{(7.00 \pm 0.22)}$</span> cm/s<span class="math-container">$^2$</span> and <span class="math-container">$T_{\rm eff} = 103600 \pm 5500$</span> K.</p>

<p>They use these numbers and theoretical white dwarf evolutionary models (there is little alternative for a star that isn't part of a binary system) to estimate a mass of <span class="math-container">$0.57 \pm 0.02 M_{\odot}$</span>.</p>

<p>At a distance now known to be around  <span class="math-container">$219 \pm 24$</span> pc (<a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0611543" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Harris et al. 2007</a>), this makes the <strong>luminosity</strong> of the white dwarf around <strong>100 times that of the Sun</strong>. A bit of calculation shows that for this gravity and mass, then although the star is small (about <span class="math-container">$0.04 R_{\odot}$</span>), it is much bigger than most white dwarfs. That is because it is recently formed (planetary nebulae are recently formed objects) and hot; the white dwarf is still contracting towards its final equilibrium size of around <span class="math-container">$0.015 R_{\odot}$</span>.</p>

<p>The CDS SIMBAD entry for the star is <a href="http://simbad.u-strasbg.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=WD+2226-210&amp;NbIdent=1&amp;Radius=2&amp;Radius.unit=arcmin&amp;submit=submit+id" rel="nofollow noreferrer">http://simbad.u-strasbg.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=WD+2226-210&amp;NbIdent=1&amp;Radius=2&amp;Radius.unit=arcmin&amp;submit=submit+id</a></p>

<p>It is listed in several catalogues, so goes by various names e.g. 2MASS J22293854-2050136, WD 2226-210.</p>

<p>The most recent (and probably most accurate) distance measurement is from the Gaia DR2 parallax survey, giving <span class="math-container">$201 \pm 4$</span> pc (<span class="math-container">$655 \pm 13$</span> light years).</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-11-23T20:24:30.870Z
Okay, so its the luminosity of the central declining star (hot white dwarf) that is around 100 times that of our sun, and its size is currently around 90% this mass of our sun.  That makes more sense.  And the number of this central declining star is WD-226-210.  Are, then, white dwarfs, in general, given a number designation rather than a name designation, due to their evolution into a a planet or planetorid sized mass?.
Dirk F.
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-11-23T20:38:49.207Z
@DirkF. It is much fainter than can be seen with the naked eye. It doesn't have a "name"; like most stars. It is 0.57 times the mass of the Sun. Its mass isn't changing, just its radius
ProfRob
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-11-23T20:41:13.247Z
You say that (Harris et al 2007) puts Helix nebula at 220 pc or 717 light years away from us.  Other websites state the nebula is 650 light years away.  That's a big difference!  I wonder which one is right.
Dirk F.
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-11-23T20:54:47.570Z
@DirkF. The Harris et al. result has an error bar too.
ProfRob
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-11-25T14:37:08.600Z
Surely GAIA can sort out that distance, no ?
Fattie
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-11-25T15:41:24.223Z
@Fattie That would the Gaia DR2 parallax that I refer to...
ProfRob
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-11-25T17:05:25.840Z
fantastic @RobJeffries , sorry I missed that at the end.
Fattie
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-11-23T10:47:39.587Z
2018-11-23T20:53:34.407Z
2018-11-23T20:53:34.407Z
ProfRob
<p>Can someone please tell me what the mass (or size) of the star at the center of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helix_Nebula" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Helix Nebula</a> is, and how much larger it is than our own star (we call the Sun or Sol).  Also, what is the name of this star?  I cannot find a website that addresses these questions.  I believe I have heard, however, that the star is roughly 100 times larger than our sun.</p>

<star>
Information on the star at the centre of the Helix "Eye Of God" Nebula
Dirk F.
# Information on the star at the centre of the Helix "Eye Of God" Nebula

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-11-23)

Can someone please tell me what the mass (or size) of the star at the center of the [Helix Nebula](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helix_Nebula) is, and how much larger it is than our own star (we call the Sun or Sol). Also, what is the name of this star? I cannot find a website that addresses these questions. I believe I have heard, however, that the star is roughly 100 times larger than our sun.

**Tags:** star


---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2018-11-23. Score: 5

The central star is a hot DAO white dwarf. As far as I can tell, the numbers that are the most reliable are those from [Napiwotzki et al. (1999)](http://cdsads.u-strasbg.fr/abs/1999A%26A...350..101N). They use a direct spectral fitting technique to estimate the surface gravity and effective temperature of the central white dwarf star. These are $g = 10^{(7.00 \pm 0.22)}$ cm/s$^2$ and $T\_{\rm eff} = 103600 \pm 5500$ K.

They use these numbers and theoretical white dwarf evolutionary models (there is little alternative for a star that isn't part of a binary system) to estimate a mass of $0.57 \pm 0.02 M\_{\odot}$.

At a distance now known to be around $219 \pm 24$ pc ([Harris et al. 2007](https://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0611543)), this makes the **luminosity** of the white dwarf around **100 times that of the Sun**. A bit of calculation shows that for this gravity and mass, then although the star is small (about $0.04 R\_{\odot}$), it is much bigger than most white dwarfs. That is because it is recently formed (planetary nebulae are recently formed objects) and hot; the white dwarf is still contracting towards its final equilibrium size of around $0.015 R\_{\odot}$.

The CDS SIMBAD entry for the star is <http://simbad.u-strasbg.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=WD+2226-210&NbIdent=1&Radius=2&Radius.unit=arcmin&submit=submit+id>

It is listed in several catalogues, so goes by various names e.g. 2MASS J22293854-2050136, WD 2226-210.

The most recent (and probably most accurate) distance measurement is from the Gaia DR2 parallax survey, giving $201 \pm 4$ pc ($655 \pm 13$ light years).

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Okay, so its the luminosity of the central declining star (hot white dwarf) that is around 100 times that of our sun, and its size is currently around 90% this mass of our sun.  That makes more sense.  And the number of this central declining star is WD-226-210.  Are, then, white dwarfs, in general, given a number designation rather than a name designation, due to their evolution into a a planet or planetorid sized mass?.  
> **username_1**: @DirkF. It is much fainter than can be seen with the naked eye. It doesn't have a "name"; like most stars. It is 0.57 times the mass of the Sun. Its mass isn't changing, just its radius  
> **username_0**: You say that (Harris et al 2007) puts Helix nebula at 220 pc or 717 light years away from us.  Other websites state the nebula is 650 light years away.  That's a big difference!  I wonder which one is right.  
> **username_1**: @DirkF. The Harris et al. result has an error bar too.  
> **username_2**: Surely GAIA can sort out that distance, no ?  
> **username_1**: @username_2 That would the Gaia DR2 parallax that I refer to...  
> **username_2**: fantastic @RobJeffries , sorry I missed that at the end.  

---

