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Moving water in stellar winds
Jeremy Yates (Herts) &
Anita Richards (Jodrell)
We present series of images of water vapour clouds in the
outflow from dying stars. These images were made using MERLIN (the
UK Multi-Element Radio Linked Interferometer Network) and the EVN
(European Very Long Baseline Interferometry Network). Water vapour
clouds around a Mira variable of one solar mass are about one
astronomical unit in diameter. The individual clouds are moving away
from the star at speeds of up to 15 km/s. This is greater than the
stellar escape velocity.
These measurements show that at the end of a star's life most of the star
is gently blow back into interstellar space. This chemically enriched
material is used to make new stars and planets, and masers track
these processes also.
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