Spectra and Fabry-Perot interferometry of AG Carinae and the nebula
Observations of the variable P Cygni-type supergiant and the unique ring nebula around it were made in 1974. Line identifications are tabulated, and an estimated electron density of 1700 per cu cm is combined with a radio flux density to derive a nebular mass of 0.18 (plus or minus 0.04) solar mass on the basis of a distance of 2 kpc. From the data, some ideas of the age and kinematics of the nebula are offered, tracing the evolution of P Cygni supergiants from the youthful prototype past the nebular stage of AG Carinae into more typical, relative old age without recognizable nebular envelopes.