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Published December 1969 | Published
Journal Article Open

The Unusual Infrared Object IRC+10216

Abstract

IRC+10216 is an extended object located out of the galactic plane in an unreddened region. At 5 μ it is the brightest source observed outside the solar system; at 2.2 μ it varies by as much as 2 mag, with a time scale on the order of 600 days. Its energy distribution resembles that of a 650° K blackbody, and no spectral features have been observed in the wavelength range from 1.5 to 14 μ. The object is interpreted as being consistent with a galactic source surrounded by an optically thick dust shell.

Additional Information

© 1969. The University of Chicago. Received 1969 October 22. This work was supported in part by National Aeronautics and Space Administration grant NGL 05-002-007 and National Science Foundation grant GP-7030. We thank Dr. H. C. Arp for obtaining the plate of IRC+10216 for us and Dr. D. Muhleman for setting the limit at 3 cm. We thank the night assistants Mario Jacquez, Henry Schaefer, and Gary Tuton as well as our colleagues Harvey Butcher, Robert Toombs, and Henry Tye for their help. Drs. R. B. Leighton and G. Garmire kindly read early versions of this Letter. Finally, we acknowledge the assistance of all those who worked on the infrared sky survey and especially that of Gordon Forrester, who made most of the 2-μ measurements reported here.

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Published - 1969ApJ___158L_133B.pdf

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Additional details

Created:
August 19, 2023
Modified:
October 25, 2023