| Description |
Among the molecular species typically observed in theinterstellar and circumstellar medium, light hydrideshave been traditionally elusive to detection since theirrotational spectrum lies in the submillimeter andinfra-red ranges of the electromagnetic spectrum, whichis very difficult to observe from ground due to severeatmospheric absorption. This project aims at utilizingthe remarkable capabilities of the HIFI instrument onboard the Herschel Space Observatory to perform asensitive search for several light hydrides toward thecircumstellar envelope of the carbon-rich evolved starIRC +10216, which is one of the richest molecularsources in the sky, with more than 70 molecules observedto date. |
