Presidential Faculty Fellows

Woodward, Charles E，该观测项目将重点从地面和机载平台对新星进行时间研究。新星为恒星演化的终点和星际介质的化学富集提供了诱人的线索。新星光谱学可以提供温度、元素丰度、与核合成有关的化学异常、尘埃和气体的质量以及喷出物的动力学特性等信息。从这些观测中确定的金属丰度将阐明新星是如何导致星系22Na和26Al丰度异常的。由于许多陆地陨石中这些同位素含量过高，研究新星如何促进星系富集过程将有助于理解太阳系的形成。* * *

ABSTRACT AST-9453354 Woodward, Charles E The observational program will focus on the temporal study of novae from both ground-based and airborne platforms. Novae offer tantalizing clues to the end points of stellar evolution and chemical enrichment of the interstellar medium. Spectroscopy of novae yields information about temperatures, elemental abundances, chemical anomaties related to nucleosynthesis, the mass of dust and gas, and dynamical properties of the ejecta. Determination of the metal abundances from these observations will clarify how novae contribute to the galactic 22Na and 26Al abundance anomalies. Because many terrestrial meteorites are overabundant in these isotopes, studies of how novae contribute to galactic enrichment processes will aid understanding of solar system formation. * * *