FG Sagittae: No Hot Companion?

Abstract

The nucleus of the planetary nebula He 1-5 (= PK 60 -7 deg 1), the variable star FG Sge, was observed with the SWP camera of the International Ultraviolet Explorer satellite to detect a hot companion of the star, if such a companion exists. The observation found no evidence for the existance of a hot companion in the 1200-2000 A range of the SWP camera and supported the contention that FG Sge underwent a helium shell flash during the past century, and that the surrounding nebula, He 1-5, is a nebula of fossil ionization. Despite the currently accepted fossil ionization model, constraints posed by the satellite detection limit, the observed H-beta flux, and the adopted radii for white dwarfs still allow the possibility of a putative hot companion photoionizing this nebula.