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Scientific paper
Jul 2005
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2005hst..prop10619b&link_type=abstract
HST Proposal ID #10619
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Hst Proposal Id #10619 Hot Stars
Scientific paper
Sirius B is the nearest and brightest of all white dwarfs {WDs}, but it is fiendishly difficult to observe from the ground because of the overwhelming brightness of Sirius A. We propose a continuation of our program of imaging observations of the Sirius system with WFPC2, which has been underway since 2001. The resulting astrometric data will not only greatly improve the precision of the binary orbit and the dynamical mass measurements for both the main-sequence and WD components, but will also test definitively for the claimed presence of a third body in this famous system, down to planetary masses. At present, there is a tantalizing suggestion in our data that there indeed may exist a substellar or planetary third body in the system. Our team has also obtained superb spectra of Sirius B using STIS, and we have achieved an excellent fit to the spectrum using model stellar atmospheres. However, the implied mass of the WD disagrees significantly with the dynamical mass implied by the existing visual-binary orbit {which still has to be based on a combination of low-accuracy ground-based astrometry plus the small number of existing HST astrometric observations}. This is another critical motivation for improving the astrometry.
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