Stars: Circumstellar Matter

Near-Infrared Interferometric, Spectroscopic, and Photometric Monitoring of T Tauri Inner Disks

We present high angular resolution observations with the Keck Interferometer, high-dispersion spectroscopic observations with Keck/NIRSPEC, and near-IR photometric observations from PAIRITEL of a sample of 11 solar-type T Tauri stars in nine systems. …

SN 2006gy: Discovery of the Most Luminous Supernova Ever Recorded, Powered by the Death of an Extremely Massive Star like η Carinae

We report the discovery and early observations of the peculiar Type IIn supernova (SN) 2006gy in NGC 1260. With a peak visual magnitude of about -22, it is the most luminous supernova ever recorded. Its very slow rise to maximum took åisebox-0.5ex 70 …