Computer Science
Scientific paper
Jul 1995
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1995hst..prop.5881h&link_type=abstract
HST Proposal ID #5881
Computer Science
Hst Proposal Id #5881 Interstellar Medium
Scientific paper
Using the high spectral and angular resolution of the HST, wepropose a small pilot program. Its purpose is to demonstratethe feasibility of mapping the distribution of gas within thecircumstellar dust disk which was discovered aroundBeta:Pictoris with the IRAS observatory. The echelle gratingof the GHRS will be used to measure the faint, narrow emissionlines formed by resonant scattering of the light from theparent star by Si II, S I, Zn II, and Fe II atoms at variouspositions in the disk. The 0.22 arcsec entrance aperture ofthe GHRS corresponds to 4.2 AU at the distance of Beta:Pic.The scattering lines should constitute the easiest meansavailable for detecting and studying the internal structure ofthe gaseous component of the disk. For example, the detectionof annular minima or maxima in the gas density might indicatethe orbits of planets. The surface brightness of the innerregions of the circumstellar disk in appropriately chosen,resonantly scattered lines is predicted to be comparable tothat of the optical O I airglow lines present in ground-basedobservations. One-hour echelle exposures are predicted toyield S/N = 20 in suitable lines. The principal barrier todetecting the gas-scattered lines may be set by the light fromthe much brighter parent star which directly enters thespectrograph aperture, owing to diffraction and scattering inthe telescope.
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