Search Publications
Hubble Space Telescope Investigation of Main-belt Comet 133P/Elst-Pizarro
Mutchler, Max; Jewitt, David; Agarwal, Jessica +3 more
We report new observations of the prototype main-belt comet (active asteroid) 133P/Elst-Pizarro taken at high angular resolution using the Hubble Space Telescope. The object has three main components: (1) a point-like nucleus; (2) a long, narrow antisolar dust tail; and (3) a short, sunward anti-tail. There is no resolved coma. The nucleus has a m…
Late-Stage Galaxy Mergers in Cosmos to z ∼ 1
Ilbert, O.; Kartaltepe, J. S.; Jahnke, K. +15 more
The role of major mergers in galaxy and black hole formation is not well-constrained. To help address this, we develop an automated method to identify late-stage galaxy mergers before coalescence of the galactic cores. The resulting sample of mergers is distinct from those obtained using pair-finding and morphological indicators. Our method relies…
Infrared Tip of the Red Giant Branch and Distances to the Maffei/IC 342 Group
Dolphin, Andrew E.; Wu, Po-Feng; Tully, R. Brent +3 more
In this paper, we extend the use of the tip of the red giant branch (TRGB) method to near-infrared wavelengths from the previously used I-band, using the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3). Upon calibration of a color dependency of the TRGB magnitude, the IR TRGB yields a random uncertainty of ~5% in relative distance. The IR …
Herschel Key Program Heritage: a Far-Infrared Source Catalog for the Magellanic Clouds
Boyer, Martha L.; Matsuura, Mikako; Meixner, Margaret +19 more
Observations from the HERschel Inventory of the Agents of Galaxy Evolution (HERITAGE) have been used to identify dusty populations of sources in the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds (LMC and SMC). We conducted the study using the HERITAGE catalogs of point sources available from the Herschel Science Center from both the Photodetector Array Camera…
Optical Spectroscopic Observations of Blazars and γ-Ray Blazar Candidates in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release Nine
Masetti, N.; Funk, S.; Massaro, F. +2 more
We present an analysis of the optical spectra available in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey data release nine (SDSS DR9) for the blazars listed in the ROMA-BZCAT and for the γ-ray blazar candidates selected according to their IR colors. First, we adopt a statistical approach based on Monte Carlo simulations to find the optical counterparts of the blaz…
Three New Cool Brown Dwarfs Discovered with the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) and an Improved Spectrum of the Y0 Dwarf WISE J041022.71+150248.4
Gould, Andrew; Cushing, Michael C.; Kirkpatrick, J. Davy +3 more
As part of a larger search of Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) data for cool brown dwarfs with effective temperatures less than 1000 K, we present the discovery of three new cool brown dwarfs with spectral types later than T7. Using low-resolution, near-infrared spectra obtained with the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility and the Hubble Sp…
The Luminosity Function of Star Clusters in 20 Star-forming Galaxies Based on Hubble Legacy Archive Photometry
Whitmore, Bradley C.; Chandar, Rupali; Ansari, Asna +4 more
Luminosity functions (LFs) have been determined for star cluster populations in 20 nearby (4-30 Mpc), star-forming galaxies based on Advanced Camera for Surveys source lists generated by the Hubble Legacy Archive (HLA). These cluster catalogs provide one of the largest sets of uniform, automatically generated cluster candidates available in the li…
Spectral Energy Distribution Analysis of Class I and Class II FU Orionis Stars
Gramajo, Luciana V.; Gómez, Mercedes; Rodón, Javier A.
FU Orionis stars (FUors) are eruptive pre-main sequence objects thought to represent quasi-periodic or recurring stages of enhanced accretion during the low-mass star-forming process. We characterize the sample of known and candidate FUors in a homogeneous and consistent way, deriving stellar and circumstellar parameters for each object. We emphas…
Hubble Space Telescope Imaging of Decoupled Dust Clouds in the Ram Pressure Stripped Virgo Spirals NGC 4402 and NGC 4522
Kenney, Jeffrey D. P.; Abramson, Anne
We present the highest-resolution study to date of the interstellar medium (ISM) in galaxies undergoing ram pressure stripping, using Hubble Space Telescope BVI imaging of NGC 4522 and NGC 4402, Virgo Cluster spirals that are well known to be experiencing intracluster medium (ICM) ram pressure. We find that throughout most of both galaxies, the ma…
The Ups and Downs of α Centauri
Ayres, Thomas R.
The following is a progress report on the long-term coronal (T ~ 1 MK) activity of α Centauri A (HD 128620: G2 V) and B (HD 128621: K1 V). Since 2005, Chandra X-Ray Observatory has carried out semiannual pointings on AB, mainly with the High Resolution Camera, but also on two occasions with the Low-Energy Transmission Grating Spectrometer, fully r…