Galaxy Zoo Talk

an extreme carbon star found by accident

  • planetaryscience by planetaryscience

    While searching an area of sky near 00 30 00 +15 00 00 for brown dwarfs, I happened across an unusual infrared source at 23 19 12.607 +17 11 33.13. The star registers at about magnitude -2 in far-infrared but is dimmer than magnitude 23 in visible. It in fact appears to be completely invisible in SDSS images of the area. at the location is a mag 22 starforming galaxy, which I had assumed to be the source. However a quick check in SIMBAD shows it to be that this object is a carbon star, surrounded by what I presume to be a halo of gas and dust.

    SDSS images:

    enter image description here

    2MASS images:

    enter image description here

    WISE images:

    enter image description here

    SDSS link: http://skyserver.sdss.org/dr8/en/tools/explore/obj.asp?id=1237678601837871136

    SIMBAD link: http://simbad.u-strasbg.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=%407870727&Name=RAFGL 3068

    excerpt from wikipedia on carbon stars:

    A carbon star is a late-type star similar to a red giant (or occasionally to a red dwarf) whose atmosphere contains more carbon than oxygen; the two elements combine in the upper layers of the star, forming carbon monoxide, which consumes all the oxygen in the atmosphere, leaving carbon atoms free to form other carbon compounds, giving the star a "sooty" atmosphere and a strikingly ruby red appearance.

    This particular example seems reminiscent of the carbon star IRC +10216, which is additionally visible in SDSS images with a distinct halo of gas around it.

    Posted

  • Budgieye by Budgieye moderator

    post in progress, checking on co-ordinates, never my strong point

    enter image description here

    enter image description here

    enter image description here

    Posted

  • Ghost_Sheep_SWR by Ghost_Sheep_SWR

    seems like 221 References

    Is it this one?
    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/IRAS_23166%2B1655

    Hmm binary system with orbit of about 800 years, causing the regular spiral structure

    enter image description here

    Hubble image from Wikipedia page, looks beautiful (almost photoshopped) btw 😃

    EDIT: right angle with SDSS

    enter image description here

    Posted

  • Budgieye by Budgieye moderator

    I thought that it looked familiar.

    Thursday 16th September 2010: a different sort of spiral http://www.galaxyzooforum.org/index.php?topic=278255.0

    An amazing celestial spiral http://www.galaxyzooforum.org/index.php?topic=278224.msg492692#msg492692

    Quote from: djj on September 10, 2010, 05:32:20 pm

    A HIDDEN STAR SPEAKS OUT

    That nebular spiral is curious

    (Though the 'planetary' label's quite spurious)

    And I'm losing much gas

    Which is part of my mass!

    So I tell you, it's making me furious!

    Posted