Skip to content
Home
About Us
Resources
Profiles Metrics
Authors Directory
Institutions Directory
Top Authors
Top Institutions
Top Sponsors
AI Digest
Contact Us
Menu
Home
About Us
Resources
Profiles Metrics
Authors Directory
Institutions Directory
Top Authors
Top Institutions
Top Sponsors
AI Digest
Contact Us
Home
About Us
Resources
Profiles Metrics
Authors Directory
Institutions Directory
Top Authors
Top Institutions
Top Sponsors
AI Digest
Contact Us
Menu
Home
About Us
Resources
Profiles Metrics
Authors Directory
Institutions Directory
Top Authors
Top Institutions
Top Sponsors
AI Digest
Contact Us
Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
earth and planetary sciences
V838 monocerotis: A geometric distance from hubble space telescope polarimetric imaging of its light echo
Astronomical Journal, Volume 135, No. 2, Year 2008
Notification
URL copied to clipboard!
Description
Following the outburst of the unusual variable star V838 Monocerotis in 2002, a spectacular light echo appeared. A light echo provides the possibility of direct geometric distance determination, because it should contain a ring of highly linearly polarized light at a linear radius of ct, where t is the time since the outburst. We present imaging polarimetry of the V838 Mon light echo, obtained in 2002 and 2005 with the Advanced Camera for Surveys on board the Hubble Space Telescope, which confirms the presence of the highly polarized ring. Based on detailed modeling that takes into account the outburst light curve, the paraboloidal echo geometry, and the physics of dust scattering and polarization, we find a distance of 6.1 0.6 kpc. The error is dominated by the systematic uncertainty in the scattering angle of maximum linear polarization, taken to be θmax = 90° 5°. The polarimetric distance agrees remarkably well with a distance of 6.2 1.2 kpc obtained from the entirely independent method of main-sequence fitting to a sparse star cluster associated with V838 Mon. At this distance, V838 Mon at maximum light had MV ≃ -9.8, making it temporarily one of the most luminous stars in the Local Group. Our validation of the polarimetric method offers promise for measurement of extragalactic distances using supernova light echoes. © 2008. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.
Authors & Co-Authors
Sparks, William B.
United States, Baltimore
Space Telescope Science Institute
Bond, Howard E.
United States, Baltimore
Space Telescope Science Institute
Cracraft, Misty
United States, Baltimore
Space Telescope Science Institute
Levay, Zolt
United States, Baltimore
Space Telescope Science Institute
Crause, Lisa A.
South Africa, Cape Town
South African Astronomical Observatory
Dopita, Michael A.
Australia, Canberra
The Australian National University
Henden, Arne A.
United States, Cambridge
American Association of Variable Star Observers
Munari, Ulisse
Italy, Padua
Osservatorio Astronomico Di Padova
Panagia, Nino
United States, Baltimore
Space Telescope Science Institute
Italy, Catania
Osservatorio Astrofisico Di Catania
Virgin Islands (british), Virgin Gorda
Supernova Ltd.
Starrfield, Sumner G.
United States, Tempe
School of Earth and Space Exploration
Sugerman, Ben E.
United States, Baltimore
Goucher College
Wagner, Ryan Mark
United States, Tucson
Large Binocular Telescope Observatory
White, Richard L.
United States, Baltimore
Space Telescope Science Institute
Statistics
Citations: 50
Authors: 13
Affiliations: 10
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1088/0004-6256/135/2/605
ISSN:
00046256
Study Design
Cross Sectional Study