Spitzer Reveals New Insights into Mass Loss History of Evolved Stars

Details Spitzer Reveals New Insights into Mass Loss History of Evolved Stars Spitzer Reveals New Insights into Mass Loss History of Evolved Stars

Jan 2010

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2010aas...21543114g&link_type=abstract

American Astronomical Society, AAS Meeting #215, #431.14; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 42, p.364

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy

5

Scientific paper

We provide high-resolution maps of the circumstellar dust shells of several dozen Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) stars using data from the Spitzer space telescope Multiband Imaging Photometer (MIPS) imaged at 70um. AGB stars are the major contributors of chemical elements such as carbon, oxygen and silicon, which are essential to the existence of life in the universe, through mass loss processes that take place at the surface of the star. We probe the spatial distribution of cold ( 40 K) dust grains in order to trace the history of mass loss from the observed radial density variation in these shells. Our high-resolution maps indicate that the relative motion of the star and interstellar medium (ISM) may be an important component of shell structure evolution. Our images illustrate that different morphologies may evolve because AGB stars interact with the ISM that surrounds them. This work is based on observations made with the Spitzer Space Telescope, which is operated by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology under a contract with NASA. Support for this work was provided by NASA through an award issued by JPL/Caltech.

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