IRAS Science Highlights

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IRAS Science Highlights

• Celebrating 25 years since IRAS was launched

Helen Walker ex Resident Astronomer Team
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IRAS point source catalogue
IRAS detected 250,000 objects, including stars,
galaxies, comets
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Comet IRAS-Araki-Alcock
IRAS discovered 6 comets IRAS showed comets were
dustier than previously thought Dust trails from
comets extend over large portions of their
orbits IRAS showed that dust from comets fills
the Solar System
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IRAS All-Sky mapshowing zodiacal light
IRAS found there were 3 bands of zodiacal dust in
the Solar System The two outer bands are 9
degrees above and below the plane, they are
165-200K and they are around 2.2-3.5 AU from the
Sun There are as many as 8 additional bands
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Dust ring around Vega
1983 Vega was a calibration star, and the dust
excess was found by comparing with models
extrapolated from optical data 1992 IRAS LRS
spectrum of a Tau calibrated absolutely 1994
IRAS 100micron data calibration improved (filter
leak of 14.3 corrected)
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A warped ring around ß Pic
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Artists impressions of Beta Pic and Fomalhaut
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HD107146 and HD141569 with HST
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Ring around e Eri
This picture is taken with the UK James Clerk
Maxwell Telescope in Hawaii
The star is only 10 light-years away
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Young discs
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IRAS catalogues

• IRAS Point Source Catalog
• IRAS Faint Source Catalog
• IRAS Serendipitous Survey Catalog
• IRAS Small Scale Structure Catalog
• IRAS Additional Observations Catalog
• IRAS Catalogued Galaxies and Quasars
• IRAS LRS data from Groningen server

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IRAS Catalogues - update

• 2006 IRIS a new generation of IRAS maps with
  better destriping
• 1994 IRAS Sky Survey Atlas explanatory
  supplement
• 1994 IRAS Point Source catalogue v2.0 on-line
  access
• 1993 space debris observed by IRAS (200,000
  entries, complete unreliable)
• 1993 IRAS CPC observations of galaxies (262)
• 1992 IRAS Minor Planet Survey (1796 numbered
  asteroids 88 unnumbered)

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Infrared Milky Way
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Andromeda Galaxy
Infrared (taken by IRAS)
Optical (taken by University of Oregon)