NOAO > Observing Info > Approved Programs > 2013A-0070
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NOAO > Observing Info > Approved Programs > 2013A-0070 |
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PI: Nicolas FLAGEY, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, nflagey@jpl.nasa.gov
Address: California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove, Drive Pasadena, CA 91109, USA
CoI: Alberto NORIEGA CRESPO, Infrared Processing and Analysis Center
CoI: Nicolas BILLOT, IRAM
CoI: Sean CAREY, Spitzer Science Center
CoI: Grazia UMANA, Osservatorio Astrofisico di Catania
CoI: Adriano INGALLINERA, Osservatorio Astrofisico di Catania
Title: Hunting for missing massive stars in the Galaxy
Abstract:
We propose GNIRS observations of the central sources of 54 circumstellar
envelopes discovered in the Spitzer/MIPSGAL 24 microns survey of the Galactic
plane to unequivocally determine the nature of these objects and help us
better characterize their main properties. Out of the 400 MIPSGAL “bubbles”
in our whole catalog, about 50% have a central source detected in the
near-IR. Spectroscopic observations of these sources are the only way to
identify the "bubbles" as planetary nebulae, Wolf-Rayet or Luminous Blue
Variables. Most of the bright Northern hemisphere targets have now been
idenified and a significant fraction of these new identifications are massive
stars. We propose to complete the identification process in the Southern sky
where most of the remaining faint targets are located. These observations
will constrain the amount of massive stars hidden in the Galactic plane and
help understand their impact in galactic systems. They will also provide the
missing information required to infer the dust mass of the "bubbles" from the
mid- to far-IR observations at our disposal.
National Optical Astronomy Observatory, 950 North Cherry Avenue, P.O. Box 26732, Tucson, Arizona 85726, Phone: (520) 318-8000, Fax: (520) 318-8360
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NOAO > Observing Info > Approved Programs > 2013A-0070 |
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