Blog / Monthly archive / March 2012
March 2012
Review of "The Monster has Two Faces"
Thursday's edition of Astrobites features a review of a newly accepted article by Don Hoard and friends, concerning the infrared sides of epsilon Aurigae's disk:
http://astrobites.com/2012/03/01/the-invisible-monster-has-two-faces/
The review was written by 2nd year Harvard grad student, Courtney Dressing, whose include exoplanets, habitability, and astrobiology.
As Courtney notes, the cold side of the disk runs at 550 +/- 50K while the side facing the F star heats to 1150 +/- 50K. This temperature difference is a major, major clue to the composition of disk material (thermal capacity) and may be pivotal in deciding the binary star separation. Continued infrared and optical observatons of the system, as the heated side of the disk comes increasingly into view as we approach quadrature offer prospects for revealing the heating and cooling balance present in these regions.Read more
