Ultraviolet Spectropolarimetry of Three Classical Novae During Outburst

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Session 20 -- Astro 2
Display presentation, Tuesday, June 13, 1995, 9:20am - 6:30pm

[20.18] Ultraviolet Spectropolarimetry of Three Classical Novae During Outburst

J.J.Johnson, C.M.Anderson, K.S.Bjorkman, A.D.Code, G.K.Fox, A.J.Weitenbeck,K. Wood, R.J.Edgar, W. Sanders, B. Babler, M. Meade, N. Zellner (Univ. of Wisconsin, Space Astronomy Laboratory), G.C.Clayton (Univeristy of Colorado/CASA ), R. Schulte-Ladbeck (Univ. of Pittsburgh), O.L. Lupie (STSci )

We used the Wisconsin Ultraviolet Photo-Polarimeter Experiment (WUPPE) during the Astro-2 mission aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour, to obtain ultraviolet (1400 to 3200 A) spectropolarimetry of three classical novae that had recently gone into outburst (Nova Cir 1995, Nova Aql 1995, and Nova Cen 1995). All three novae appear to have intrinsic polarization, with polarization changes across emission lines. This result indicates that geometrically, the ejecta were quite aspherical. It also appears that different lines have different degrees of polarization, suggesting that they are formed in regions of differing geometry. Models to explain these results will be discussed.

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