H91x RADIO RECOMBINATION LINE AND 3.5 CM CONTINUUMOBSERVATIONS OF THE PLANETARY NEBULA NGC 3242

摘要

We present high sensitivity H91ct and 3.5 cm radio continuum observationstoward the planetary nebula NGC 3242. The electron temperature determinedassuming local thermodynamic equilibrium is consistent within -40% with thatderived from optical lines,.and the Balmer discontinuity. The line emission and thecontinuum emission have a very similar spatial distribution, suggesting that at thiswavelength there is no other continuum process present in a significant manner. Inparticular, we conclude that emission from spinning dust is not important at thiswavelength. In this radio recombination line the nebula presents a radial velocitystructure consistent with that obtained from observations of optical lines.