Figure 20-4: R I V U X G
A Carbon Star TT Cygni is an AGB star in the constellation Cygnus that ejects some of its carbon-rich outer layers into space. Some of the ejected carbon combines with oxygen to form molecules of carbon monoxide (CO), whose emissions can be detected with a radio telescope. This radio image shows the CO emissions from a shell of material that TT Cygni ejected some 7000 years ago. Over that time, the shell has expanded to a diameter of about ½ ly.
A Carbon Star TT Cygni is an AGB star in the constellation Cygnus that ejects some of its carbon-rich outer layers into space. Some of the ejected carbon combines with oxygen to form molecules of carbon monoxide (CO), whose emissions can be detected with a radio telescope. This radio image shows the CO emissions from a shell of material that TT Cygni ejected some 7000 years ago. Over that time, the shell has expanded to a diameter of about ½ ly.
(H. Olofsson, Stockholm Observatory, et al./NASA)