Previous
abstract 
Next
abstract
Session 7 - Gas and Dust in the ISM.
Display session, Monday, June 10
Great Hall,
We present measurements of interstellar H_2 absorption lines found in the continuum spectra of eight early-type stars in the Galactic disk. The spectra were obtained with the Berkeley Spectrometer on the ORFEUS-SPAS I space shuttle mission in September, 1993. Their high resolution (\lambda/3300) and high signal-to-noise ratios (20--80) allow precise measurements of absorption-line wavelengths and equivalent widths. We calculate column densities for each observed rotational level and derive excitation temperatures for the H_2 clouds along each line of sight. We compare our results with those determined from previous Copernicus\/ observations of stars in the Galactic disk. This work is supported by NASA grant NAG5-696.
