We have recently discovered a new class of first-ascent giants surrounded by substantial dusty and gaseous disks that are sometimes accreting onto the central star. These old stars, who are nearing the end of their lives, are experiencing a rebirth into characteristics typically associated with newborn stars. As such we dub them ..Phoenix Giants.. As a critical step to understanding these unique systems and the origin of their circumstellar material, we propose Herschel PACS and SPIRE imaging observations to characterize their dusty disks. We expect that Herschel observations of Phoenix Giant disks will establish a benchmark characterization of the outer disk regions of this recently discovered class of first-ascent giant stars.
Publication
Instrument
PACS_PacsPhoto_largeScan, SPIRE_SpirePhoto_small
Temporal Coverage
2011-01-09T10:35:37Z/2012-06-25T15:17:52Z
Version
SPG v14.2.0
Mission Description
Herschel was launched on 14 May 2009! It is the fourth 'cornerstone' mission in the ESA science programme. With a 3.5 m Cassegrain telescope it is the largest space telescope ever launched. It is performing photometry and spectroscopy in approximately the 55-671 µm range, bridging the gap between earlier infrared space missions and groundbased facilities.
