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The Envelope of IRC+10216 Seen at High Angular Resolution
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 13 May 2016
Abstract
Deep optical images of the circumstellar envelope of IRC+10216 have been obtained with CFHT and HST, with angular resolutions of 1 and 0.1, respectively. In the outer regions, the envelope is seen in dust-scattered galactic light, and is detected up to ∼200 from the star, corresponding to 8000 years of expansion. The envelope is composed of discrete, nearly circular, thin, limb-brightened shells. These shells are spaced at irregular intervals, and the shell/intershell density contrast is typically 3. Although the HST observations show a distinct bipolar geometry very near the star, the global shell pattern suggests a roughly isotropic, episodic mass loss mechanism.
- Type
- Stars and Stellar Atmospheres
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- Copyright © Astronomical Society of the Pacific 2001