Related papers: Diffraction-limited Speckle-Masking Interferometry…
We present new observations of the red supergiant VY CMa at 1.25 micron, 1.65 micron, 2.26 micron, 3.08 micron and 4.8 micron. Two complementary observational techniques were utilized: non-redundant aperture masking on the 10-m Keck-I…
We present millimeter interferometric observations of the molecular envelope around the red supergiant VY CMa with the SubMillimeter Array (SMA). The high angular resolution (< 2'') allows us to derive the structure of the envelope as…
We investigate the atmospheric structure and fundamental properties of the red supergiant VY CMa. We obtained near-infrared spectro-interferometric observations of VY CMa with spectral resolutions of 35 and 1500 using the AMBER instrument…
We have used the VLA to detect emission from the supergiant VY CMa at radio wavelengths and have constructed 3000-4500 K isothermal outer atmospheres constrained by the data. These models produce a radio photosphere at 1.5-2 R_ast. An…
With a luminosity > 10^5 Lsun and a mass-loss rate of about 2.10-4 Msun/yr, the red supergiant VY CMa truly is a spectacular object. Because of its extreme evolutionary state, it could explode as supernova any time. Studying its…
The star VY CMa is a late-type M supergiant with many peculiarities, mostly related to the intense circumstellar environment due to the star's high mass-loss rate. Claims have been made that would suggest this star is considerably more…
High spatial and spectral resolution spectroscopy of the OH/IR supergiant VY CMa and its circumstellar ejecta reveals evidence for high mass loss events from localized regions on the star occurring over the past 1000 years. The reflected…
The U. C. Berkeley Infrared Spatial Interferometer has measured the mid-infrared visibilities of the carbon star IRC+10216 and the red supergiant VY CMa. The dust shells around these sources have been previously shown to be time-variable,…
We present mid- and far- IR imaging of four famous hypergiant stars: the red supergiants $\mu$ Cep and VY CMa, and the warm hypergiants IRC +10420 and $\rho$ Cas. Our 11 to 37 $\mu$m SOFIA/FORCAST imaging probes cool dust not detected in…
The envelope of the red supergiant VY CMa has long been considered an extreme example of episodic mass loss that is possibly taking place in other cool and massive evolved stars. Recent submm observations of the envelope revealed massive…
We report astrometric observations of H2O masers around the red supergiant VY Canis Majoris (VY CMa) carried out with VLBI Exploration of Radio Astrometry (VERA). Based on astrometric monitoring for 13 months, we successfully measured a…
We combine spectra of VY CMa obtained with the short- and long-wavelength spectrometers, SWS and LWS, on the Infrared Space Observatory to provide a first detailed continuum spectrum of this highly luminous star. The circumstellar dust…
HST/STIS spectra of the small clumps and filaments closest to the central star in VY CMa reveal that the very strong K I emission and TiO and VO molecular emission, long thought to form in a dusty circumstellar shell, actually originate in…
We report astrometric results of phase-referencing VLBI observations of 43 GHz SiO maser emission toward the red hypergiant VY Canis Majoris (\vycma) using the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA). We measured a trigonometric parallax of 0.83…
A spectral line survey of the oxygen-rich red supergiant VY Canis Majoris was made between 279 and 355 GHz with the Submillimeter Array. Two hundred twenty three spectral features from 19 molecules (not counting isotopic species of some of…
Imaging and spectroscopy of the knots, clumps, and extended arcs in the complex ejecta of VY CMa confirm a record of high mass loss events over the past few hundred years. HST/STIS spectroscopy of numerous small knots close to the star…
We report the detection of numerous far-infrared emission lines of water vapor toward the supergiant star VY Canis Majoris. A 29.5 - 45 micron grating scan of VY CMa, obtained using the Short Wavelength Spectrometer (SWS) of the Infrared…
The luminosity of the famous red supergiant VY CMa (L ~ 4 - 5 x 10e5 Lsun) is well-determined from its spectral energy distribution and distance, and places it near the empirical upper luminosity limit for cool hypergiants. In contrast, its…
We present 2 - 5 micron adaptive optics (AO) imaging and polarimetry of the famous hypergiant stars IRC +10420 and VY Canis Majoris. The imaging polarimetry of IRC +10420 with MMT-Pol at 2.2 micron resolves nebular emission with intrinsic…
The red hypergiant VY CMa is famous for its very visible record of high mass loss events. Recent CO observations with ALMA revealed three previously unknown large scale outflows (Paper I). In this paper we use the CO maps to investigate the…