The ionization structure of planetary nebulae. 4: NGC 6853

Spectrophotometric observations of emission line intensities were made in seven positions in the planetary nebula NGC 6853; for five of the positions, coverage is across the entire spectral range 1400A to 9600A. Standard equations used to correct for the existence of elements in other than the optically-observable ionization stages give results over a wide range of ionization that are generally consistent and in agreement with abundances calculated using ultraviolet lines. As in the previous studies in this series, the lambda 4267 CII line implies a c(2+) abundance that is higher than that determined from UV lines. Although this effect is much smaller than in NGC 6720 and NGC 7009, it is again largest nearest the central star, giving more evidence that the excitation mechanism for the lambda 4267 line is not understood.