2012MNRAS.421.1661M

Hu 1-2 is a planetary nebula that contains an isolated knot located north-west of the main nebula, which could be related to a collimated outflow. We present a subarcsecond Hα+[N II] image and a high-resolution, long-slit spectrum of Hu 1-2 that allow us to identify the south-eastern counterpart of the north-western knot and to establish their high-velocity (>340 km/s), collimated bipolar outflow nature. The detection of the north-western knot in Palomar Observatory Sky Atlas (POSS) red plates allows us to carry out a proper motion analysis by combining three POSS red plates and two narrow-band Hα+[N II] CCD images, with a time baseline of ≃ 57 yr. A proper motion of 20±6 mas/yr along position angle 312°± 15° and a dynamical age of 1375_–320⁺⁵⁹⁰ yr are obtained for the bipolar outflow. The measured proper motion and the spatio-kinematical properties of the bipolar outflow yield a lower limit of 2.7 kpc for the distance to Hu 1-2.