Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics – Galaxy Astrophysics
Scientific paper
2010-04-02
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
Galaxy Astrophysics
23 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in AJ
Scientific paper
We have discovered a large number of circular and elliptical shells at 24 microns around luminous central sources with the MIPS instrument on-board the Spitzer Space Telescope. Our archival follow-up effort has revealed 90% of these circumstellar shells to be previously unknown. The majority of the shells is only visible at 24 microns, but many of the central stars are detected at multiple wavelengths from the mid- to the near-IR regime. The general lack of optical counterparts, however, indicates that these sources represent a population of highly obscured objects. We obtained optical and near-IR spectroscopic observations of the central stars and find most of these objects to be massive stars. In particular, we identify a large population of sources that we argue represents a narrow evolutionary phase, closely related or identical to the LBV stage of massive stellar evolution.
Hoard Donald Wayne
Kafka Styliani
Mauerhan Jon Christian
Morris Pat W.
Van Dyk Schuyler D.
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