Examples of Comet-Like Spectra among β Pic-Like Stars

Autor: H. J. Walker, Fred C. Witteborn, Harold M. Butner, Diane H. Wooden
Rok vydání: 1997
Předmět:
Zdroj: International Astronomical Union Colloquium. 161:149-155
ISSN: 0252-9211
Popis: To assess the physical conditions in our early solar system, we have to study the disks around other stars.βPic is a main sequence star surrounded by a large dust disk,βPic’s mid-infrared spectrum bears a striking resemblance to the silicate emission seen in some cometary spectra. We have selected a sample of main-sequence stars with similar IRAS properties to those ofβPic and undertaken a systematic survey of their physical properties. We obtained mid-infrared spectra covering the range 8 to 13μm at a resolution of 200 in June 1995. We report on the wide variety of silicate emission features we see and compare to the spectra reported for many different interstellar and interplanetary sources. Even among our small sample of stars, we find examples of silicate emission features that bear a striking similarity to those seen in the spectra of some comets like P/Halley and P/Bradfield 1987. These spectra also resemble the laboratory spectra of Interplanetary Dust Particles (IDPs).
Databáze: OpenAIRE