Hubble Space Telescope Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph Coronagraphic Imaging of the Herbig AE Star AB Aurigae
Bruhweiler, F. C.; Lindler, Don J.; Boggess, A.; Grady, C. A.; Woodgate, B.; Clampin, M.; Kalas, P.; Plait, Philip
United States
Abstract
We present the first broadband, coronagraphic Hubble Space Telescope images of the bright, optically visible, isolated Herbig Ae star AB Aurigae. The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) images reveal extended circumstellar nebulosity (r~1300 AU) covering the region of the millimeter continuum and CO disk. The structure is observed in the disk on spatial scales down to 0.1" (14 AU) and exhibits a north-south asymmetry. A comparison of the STIS data with scattering models for flared disks or disks + envelopes suggests that the disk inclination is i<=45deg from the plane of the sky.