IRC +10216

Encyclopedia : I : IR : IRC : IRC +10216

IRC +10216 or CW Leonis is the brightest and best studied carbon star, but also a very peculiar one with the central star being embedded in a thick dust envelope. Therefore, its energy is emitted mostly at infrared wavelengths: in fact, IRC +10216 is the brightest object in the sky at a wavelength of 10 μm. Recent speckle observations (Weigelt et al. 1998 A&A,333,51, Haniff and Buscher 1998 A&A,334,5) are beginning to show the complex structure of the dust "shell".

External links

[Variations in the dust envelope around IRC +10216] revealed by aperture masking interferometry
[Simbad info for IRC +10216] including over 1200 articles discussing this object.

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