Proper Motions of the Ansae in the Planetary Nebula NGC 7009

Abstract

For the planetary nebula NGC 7009, we present a comparison of two unpublished Very Large Array archive data sets taken with a time separation of 8.09 years to confirm the proper motions of its ansae observed in the optical. We determine values of 23$\pm$6 and 34$\pm$10 mas yr$^{-1}$ for the eastern and western ansae, respectively. There is marginal evidence suggesting that the flux densities of the jets that connect the ansae with the main body of the nebula diminished in about 30% over the period between the two observations. We also set an upper limit to the expansion of the main body of the planetary nebula, setting a lower limit of $\sim$700 pc for its distance.