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J.G. Timothy (The Catholic University of America and Nightsen, Inc.), E.P. Horch (Center for Imaging Science Rochester Institute of Technology), J.A. Valenti (STScI)
We have successfully recorded the first far ultraviolet (FUV) image of the supergiant star Alpha Orionis (Betelguese, HD 39801) using the Hubble Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) in the camera mode with the narrow band Lyman Alpha filter. The image shows an atmosphere that is both larger in extent and more structured than that observed earlier at near ultraviolet (NUV) wavelengths around 2500 A and 2800 A (Gilliland and Dupree, 1996). The measured mean FWHM in the FUV bandpass of 145 A is 148+/-6 mas, and the measured mean diameter to the 10 intensity level is 260+/-12 mas. Two unresolved but clearly separated hotspots are seen in the image. The structure shows significant differences from the 1995 NUV images, but some similarities to the more recent NRAO radio image (Lim et al., 1998). Folding the GHRS spectrum of 1991 (Carpenter et al., 1994) into the STIS filter bandpass shows that, while very little of the observed emission comes from the H Lyman Alpha line at 1216 A, the bulk of the observed radiation is from the Fe II/Si I/O I emission line complex near 1300 A. This work was supported in part by NASA grant NAG5-3378 to the Catholic University of America.
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The author(s) of this abstract have provided an email address for comments about the abstract: gethyn@nightsen.com
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Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 34
© 2002. The American Astronomical Soceity.