Multiple dust shells and motions around IK Tauri as seen by infrared interferometry
- Allegheny Observatory, University of Pittsburgh, Obervatory Station, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15214 (United States)
- Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720-7450 (United States)
- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, P.O. Box 808, 7000East Avenue, Livermore, California 94550 (United States)
- Observatoire de la Cote dAzur, UMR 6528, B.P. 4229, F-06304 Nice Dex 4 (France)
- Joint Astronomy Centre, 600 North Aohoku Place, University Park, Hilo, Hawaiian Islands 96720 (United States)
A visibility curve of IK Tau has been measured with the ISI, an 11 {mu}m stellar interferometer, over a period of several years. Time variations in 11 {mu}m flux were also measured. The results indicate an approximately periodic distribution of dust shells around the star, with shells separated by 200{endash}250 mas and a diameter of about 200 mas for the innermost shell. Some shell motion has been detected, and if velocities are the same as those measured for CO gas and OH masers, the motion implies that the distance to IK Tau is about 265 pc and that shells have been emitted at times separated by about 12 yr, which is considerably longer than the star`s luminosity period of 470 days. {copyright} {ital 1997} {ital The American Astronomical Society}
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-48
- OSTI ID:
- 573938
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 490, Issue 1; Other Information: PBD: Nov 1997
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
H/sub 2/O masers in circumstellar envelopes
POLARIZED EMISSION FROM SiO MASERS IN IK Tauri