A PHOTOMETRICALLY AND MORPHOLOGICALLY VARIABLE INFRARED NEBULA IN L483

We present narrow and broad K-band observations of the Class 0/I source IRAS 18148-0440 that span 17 years. The infrared nebula associated with this protostar in the L483 dark cloud is both morphologically and photometrically variable on a timescale of only a few months. This nebula appears to be an...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Astronomical journal 2009-03, Vol.137 (3)
Main Authors: Connelley, Michael S., Hodapp, Klaus W., Fuller, Gary A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
ASTROPHYSICS, COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY
CARBON MONOXIDE
CLOUDS
EMISSION
GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS//MATHEMATICS, COMPUTING, AND INFORMATION SCIENCE
HYDROGEN
ILLUMINANCE
NEBULAE
REFLECTION
STARS
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:We present narrow and broad K-band observations of the Class 0/I source IRAS 18148-0440 that span 17 years. The infrared nebula associated with this protostar in the L483 dark cloud is both morphologically and photometrically variable on a timescale of only a few months. This nebula appears to be an infrared analog to other well known optically visible variable nebulae associated with young stars, such as Hubble's Variable Nebula. Along with Cepheus A, this is one of the first large variable nebulae to be found that is only visible in the infrared. The variability of this nebula is most likely due to changing illumination of the cloud rather than any motion of the structure in the nebula. Both morphological and photometric changes are observed on a timescale only a few times longer than the light crossing time of the nebula, suggesting very rapid intrinsic changes in the illumination of the nebula. Our narrowband observations also found that H{sub 2} knots are found nearly twice as far to the east of the source as to its west, and that H{sub 2} emission extends farther east of the source than the previously known CO outflow.
ISSN:1538-3881
1538-3881
DOI:10.1088/0004-6256/137/3/3494;COUNTRYOFINPUT:INTERNATIONALATOMICENERGYAGENCY(IAEA)