IPAC, located on the Caltech campus, is not under direct threat from local fires at this time, though it is subject to the effects of strong winds and poor air quality. Many members of the IPAC community have been impacted by these events, and IPAC will follow Caltech guidance on closures and safe operations. For more information, visit Caltech’s Emergency Updates page at http://www.caltech.edu/emergency.

Simultaneous far-infrared, near-infrared, and radio observations of OH/IR stars.

July 1980 • 1980ApJ...239..540W

Authors • Werner, M. W. • Beckwith, S. • Gatley, I. • Sellgren, K. • Berriman, G. • Whiting, D. L.

Abstract • Simultaneous far-infrared, near-infrared, and radio observations have been made of five infrared stars which show OH maser emission at 1612 MHz. These stars have very thick circumstellar dust shells and are not seen optically. The data permit a direct comparison of the far-infrared and maser emission from these sources, which strongly supports the hypothesis that the maser emission is pumped by 35 micron photons. A comparison with data obtained at earlier epochs suggests that the maser emission is saturated. The infrared and radio data are used together with estimates of the source distances to determine the luminosities and mass loss rates for these objects. The luminosities lie in the range 2000-30,000 solar luminosities and are consistent with either Mira variable or M supergiant classifications for the underlying stars. The estimated mass loss rates lie between 0.000005-0.00007 solar mass/year.

Links

View on ADS

IPAC Authors
(alphabetical)

1521839_10203505350186806_6213735570300794631_n

Bruce Berriman

Senior Scientist