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Evolution and detectability of comet clouds during post-main-sequence stellar evolution

Nature volume 345, pages 305–308 (1990)Cite this article

Abstract

Stars leaving the main sequence enter a luminous phase, during which circumstellar comet disks would be partially evaporated. Such a process could explain some observations of water masers and complex molecules in envelopes of giant and super-giant stars, and might provide a means of searching for Oort-type clouds—1;and by inference, past planetary formation—1around other stars.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colocado, 80309-0392, USA

    S. Alan Stern & John C. Brandt

  2. Department of Astrophysical, Planetary, and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, 80309-0391, USA

    S. Alan Stern, J. Michael Shull & John C. Brandt

  3. Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics, University of Colorado and National Institute of Standards and Technology, Boulder, Colorado, 80309-0440, USA

    J. Michael Shull

Authors
  1. S. Alan Stern
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  2. J. Michael Shull
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  3. John C. Brandt
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Stern, S., Shull, J. & Brandt, J. Evolution and detectability of comet clouds during post-main-sequence stellar evolution. Nature 345, 305–308 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1038/345305a0

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