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Evidence for Water in the Rocky Debris of a Disrupted Extrasolar Minor Planet

Gänsicke, B. T.; Koester, D.; Farihi, J.

The existence of water in extrasolar planetary systems is of great interest because it constrains the potential for habitable planets and life. We have identified a circumstellar disk that resulted from the destruction of a water-rich and rocky extrasolar minor planet. The parent body formed and evolved around a star somewhat more massive than the…

An Integral View of Fast Shocks Around Supernova 1006

Hughes, John P.; van de Ven, Glenn; Raymond, John C. +5 more

Supernova remnants are among the most spectacular examples of astrophysical pistons in our cosmic neighborhood. The gas expelled by the supernova explosion is launched with velocities ∼1000 kilometers per second into the ambient, tenuous interstellar medium, producing shocks that excite hydrogen lines. We have used an optical integral-field spectr…