The many, large-scale, velocity components of M17 – observed with an insect-eye Fabry–Perot

• Published in: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society Vol. 184; no. 3; pp. 527 - 535
• Main Authors: Elliott, K. H., Meaburn, J., Terrett, D. L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Oxford University Press 01-10-1978
• ISSN: 0035-8711; 1365-2966
• DOI: 10.1093/mnras/184.3.527

An insect-eye Fabry–Perot spectrograph, combined with the 3.8-m Anglo-Australian telescope, has been used to obtain the profiles of the [N II] and [O III] emission lines at many positions over the H II region M17. Many unusual motions have been revealed. Also the motions in the high- and low-excitation gas have been shown to be similar. This substantiates a model for this object in which successive, partial, H I, Mol/H II shells expand (or contract) from (or to) the exciting stars. The source of energy for an expanding situation could be the stellar winds from embedded early-type stars.