Previous | Session 28 | Next
M. Jura (UCLA)
When a main-sequence star becomes a red giant, it effectively illuminates any orbiting dust and comet-like objects. Some first ascent red giants display infrared excesses in the IRAS data, and it has been proposed that these systems are instances of long-lived debris disks. However, we have found from Spitzer imaging that the infrared emission around these stars is typically extended, and therefore, it is likely that the excesses are usually caused by interstellar cirrus. The lack of mid-infrared excesses around first ascent red giants suggests that any system of Kuiper Belt Objects that these stars do possess is less massive than the Solar System's.
This work has been supported by NASA.
The author(s) of this abstract have provided an email address for comments about the abstract: jura@astro.ucla.edu
Previous | Session 28 | Next
Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 37 #2
© 2005. The American Astronomical Soceity.