Work

Extended near-infrared emission from visual reflection nebulae

Year: 1983

Type: article

Abstract: Extended near infrared (2 to 5 microns) emission was observed from three visual reflection nebulae, NGC 7023, 2023, and 2068. The emission from each nebula consists of a smooth continuum, which can be described by a greybody with a color temperature of 1000 K, and emission features at 3.3 and 3.4 microns. The continuum emission cannot be explained by free-free emission, reflected light, or field stars, or by thermal emission from grains, with commonly accepted ratios of infrared to ultraviolet emissivities, which are in equilibrium with the stellar radiation field. A possible explanation is thermal emission from grains with extremely low ratios of infrared to ultraviolet emissivities, or from grains with a temperature determined by mechanisms other than equilibrium radiative heating. Another possibility is continuum fluorescence. Previously announced in STAR N83-25629

Source: The Astrophysical Journal

DOI: 10.1086/184083

Authors: K. Sellgren, M. W. Werner, H. L. Dinerstein

Institutions: California Institute of Technology, Ames Research Center, The University of Texas at Austin

Language: English

Topic: Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies

Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics

Field: Physics and Astronomy

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funders: National Science Foundation, National Aeronautics and Space Administration

OpenAlex ID: W2008651477