JWST/NIRCam imaging of the bipolar planetary nebula NGC 6537: the (Infra)red Spider, revealed

Kastner, Joel, Moraga Baez, Paula, Balick, Bruce, Montez Jr., Rodolfo, Gieser, Caroline, Matsuura, Mikako ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5529-5593, Nordhaus, Jason and Santander-Garcia, Miguel 2025. JWST/NIRCam imaging of the bipolar planetary nebula NGC 6537: the (Infra)red Spider, revealed. The Astrophysical Journal 993 (1) , 79. 10.3847/1538-4357/ae0706

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Abstract

The Astrophysical Journal The American Astronomical Society logo. The following article is Open access JWST/NIRCam Imaging of the Bipolar Planetary Nebula NGC 6537: The (Infra)red Spider, Revealed Joel H. Kastner, Paula Moraga Baez, Bruce Balick, Rodolfo Montez Jr., Caroline Gieser, Mikako Matsuura, Jason Nordhaus, and Miguel Santander-Garcia Published 2025 October 28 • © 2025. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society. The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 993, Number 1Citation Joel H. Kastner et al 2025 ApJ 993 79DOI 10.3847/1538-4357/ae0706 Download Article PDFDownloadArticle ePub Download PDFDownload ePub Article metrics 444 Total downloads Share this article Abstract We present James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) Brα, H2, [Fe ii], and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) imaging of the molecule-rich, high-excitation bipolar planetary nebula (PN) NGC 6537 (the Red Spider), complemented by new Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) and Chandra X-ray Observatory (Chandra) observations and archival Hubble Space Telescope (HST) images. The resulting multiwavelength view of the Red Spider establishes the detailed lobe–torus structure of the nebula and the mass-loss history of its progenitor star. The extinction-penetrating JWST/NIRCam Brα and PAH and ALMA 3 mm continuum imaging exposes the complexity of the ionized inner nebula. JWST/NIRCam H2 imaging traces the full, ∼1.1 pc extent of the bubble-like lobes formed by fast (∼300–400 km s−1) polar outflows, while ALMA 13CO(1–0) mapping reveals a point-symmetric, slowly (∼10 km s−1) expanding equatorial torus of radius ∼ 0.13 pc. In striking contrast, the [Fe ii] image displays an extended S-shaped emission morphology that traces collisions between an active, collimated wind and slower-moving material along the lobe rims. No X-rays are detected from the nebula or its central star in deep Chandra/HRC-I imaging. However, the combined HST and JWST imaging reveals a near-IR excess at the central star indicative of emission from hot (∼1000 K) circumstellar dust. We propose that interactions between the nebular progenitor star and a close companion are responsible for the ejection of NGC 6537’s molecular torus, the formation of a circumbinary dust disk, and the launching of fast, wandering, collimated outflows that have inflated the polar lobe bubbles traced by near-IR H2 emission and are presently generating the [Fe ii]-emitting shocks.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Published Online
Status:	Published
Schools:	Schools > Physics and Astronomy
Publisher:	American Astronomical Society
ISSN:	1538-4357
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	24 September 2025
Date of Acceptance:	13 September 2025
Last Modified:	10 Nov 2025 13:17
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/181309

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