Location
Utah State University
Start Date
5-10-2010 1:15 PM
Description
The transition from Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) star to Planetary Nebula is a short lived and mysterious evolutionary phase for intermediate-mass stars. Though it lasts only a few thousand years, it is thought to be the time when the asymmetries observed in subsequent phases arise. However, there are very few that we have caught in the act; those that have been identified are shrouded in thick clouds of dust and molecular gas. Thus, infrared observations are needed to reveal these objects at their most pivotal moment. I present preliminary results of an observational program carried out using the infrared Spitzer Space Telescope on targets spanning the range from post-AGB stars to young Planetary Nebulae with the goal of determining the genesis of asymmetry in these objects.
The Origin of Asymmetry in Proto-Planetary Nebulae
Utah State University
The transition from Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) star to Planetary Nebula is a short lived and mysterious evolutionary phase for intermediate-mass stars. Though it lasts only a few thousand years, it is thought to be the time when the asymmetries observed in subsequent phases arise. However, there are very few that we have caught in the act; those that have been identified are shrouded in thick clouds of dust and molecular gas. Thus, infrared observations are needed to reveal these objects at their most pivotal moment. I present preliminary results of an observational program carried out using the infrared Spitzer Space Telescope on targets spanning the range from post-AGB stars to young Planetary Nebulae with the goal of determining the genesis of asymmetry in these objects.