One star, two star, red star, blue star: an updated planetary nebula central star distance catalogue from Gaia EDR3

N. Chornay, N. A. Walton

Published 2021-02-26Version 1

Aims. Planetary nebulae (PNe) are a brief phase of stellar evolution and as such some of the rarest objects in our galaxy. Accurate identification of PN central stars (CSPNe) in large surveys such as Gaia is key to exploiting the scientific potential of those surveys for the study of PNe and stellar evolution. Methods. We apply our automated search method to identify source detections corresponding to CSPNe and compact PNe in the recently released Gaia Early Data Release 3 (EDR3). The method is updated to incorporate photometric uncertainties. Results. The new catalogue offers improved completeness and accuracy over the previous one, and will continue to be valid for the upcoming Gaia Data Release 3 (DR3). The identification of EDR3 sources unlocks the improved astrometry and photometry stemming from calibration updates and a longer mission duration, even for sources that have previously been identified.