Discussion and Analysis
One dimensional spectrum of the inner nebula
One dimensional spectra of the outer part of the nebula. Note that the noise is more pronounced because the scale is smaller
The two spectra overlaid. The inner nebula has the larger peaks.
The Sky Spectrum. There are a few peaks in regions where there is noise in the other images.
| Ratio H-alpha:H-beta | Ratio OIIIa:OIIIb | Ratio H-alpha:OIIIa | Ratio H-alpha:HeII | Ratio H-alpha:SII | Ratio H-alpha:NaI | |
| Inner | 5.634 | 6.132 | 0.682 | 14.981 | 27.523 | 1.242 |
| Outer | 5.599 | 6.178 | 0.431 | 11.925 | 19.128 | 15.922 |
| RO/RI | 0.994 | 1.007 | 0.632 | 0.796 | 0.695 | 12.818 |
| Inverse | Inverse | Inverse | Inverse | Inverse | Inverse | |
| Inner | 0.178 | 0.163 | 1.467 | 0.067 | 0.036 | 0.805 |
| Outer | 0.179 | 0.162 | 2.319 | 0.084 | 0.052 | 0.063 |
| Line | Actual Wavelength | Measured Wavelength |
| H-alpha | 6563 | 6569.78 |
| H-beta | 4861 | 4863.365 |
| HI/OIII Blend | 4340 and 4363 | 4354.865 |
| OIII | 4959 | 4955.16 |
| OIII | 5007 | 5007.86 |
| SII | 6717 and 6731 | 6733.635 |
| NaI | 5890 and 5895 | 5886.18 |
| HeII | 4686 | 4683.675 |
The HI-gamma/OIII blend is very questionable, particularly since it does not fit the pattern set by the other Hydrogen and Oxygen emission lines.
It is worth noting that if there were any NII emissions at 6548 and 6584 angstroms, they were not resolvable from H-alpha
It may also make sense to discount the NaI ratio, as the peaks were small in the spectra of the inner and outer nebula and could have been greatly affected by sky conditions.
The measured and actual wavelengths were off in many cases by an inconsistent number - there was no systematic shift in the wavelengths. However, this did not cause significant difficulty in identifying the lines, since there were rarely other lines in the same region.
Note that the H-alpha:H-beta ratios are consistent, meaning that reddening is consistent over the entirety of the nebula. The expected ratio is 2.86 but the actual ratio was about twice that, 5.6, for both the inner and outer, indication that there is in fact reddening occurring. Because the reddening is consistent and we are concerned with relative prevalence of elemental emissions, the reddening did not affect the results.