Abstract
The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) has produced dramatic images of proto-planetary disks ("proplyds") surrounding young (< 10 6 year old) stars embedded in the Orion Nebula. The intense UV radiation field of the high-mass Trapezium stars heats the disk surfaces, drives mass-loss, and produces bright ionization fronts. Many disks are seen in silhouette against the nebular background of the Orion Nebula, or against the proplyd's own ionization front. The sub-arcsecond resolution and light gathering power of the Keck telescopes in the near-IR provide a unique opportunity to study the earliest phases of planetary disk evolution and disk destruction under intense UV radiation fields. We present initial results from observations of a handful of proplyds using KCAM and NIRSPEC, with and without the adaptive optics (AO) system, on Keck II. These data clearly resolve, both spatially and spectrally, ionization fronts, disks, and a microjet. The data are used to constrain mass-loss rates due to photoevaporation, disk surface wind velocity, and grain size distribution.
Original language | English (US) |
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Title of host publication | Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering |
Editors | P. Guhathakurta |
Pages | 364-374 |
Number of pages | 11 |
Volume | 4834 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 2002 |
Externally published | Yes |
Event | Discoveries and Research Prospects from 6- to 10- Meter-Class telescopes II - Waikoloa, HI, United States Duration: Aug 22 2002 → Aug 23 2002 |
Other
Other | Discoveries and Research Prospects from 6- to 10- Meter-Class telescopes II |
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Country/Territory | United States |
City | Waikoloa, HI |
Period | 8/22/02 → 8/23/02 |
Keywords
- Adaptive optics
- Interstellar medium
- Orion Nebula
- Planet formation
- Pre-main-sequence stars
- Star formation
- Stellar jets
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Electrical and Electronic Engineering
- Condensed Matter Physics