Bibcode
Genova, R.; Beckman, J. E.; Vladilo, G.; Molaro, P.
Bibliographical reference
(Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias and Comision Interministerial de Ciencia y Tecnologia, Summer School on Evolutionary Phenomena in Galaxies, Puerto de la Cruz, Spain, July 4-15, 1988) Astrophysics and Space Science (ISSN 0004-640X), vol. 156, no. 1-2, June 1989, p. 243-249.
Advertised on:
6
1989
Citations
2
Refereed citations
2
Description
A method to explore the column density of the Local Interstellar Medium
(LISM) using absorptions in the resonance H and K lines of Mg II. The
intrinsic strengths of these lines in the temperature and density
conditions prevailing in warm clouds in the LISM allows them to be used
to explore many lines of sight where lines such a NaD and Ca II H and K
are too weak, but where L-alpha is saturated. The number of measurable
lines-of-sight is greatly enhanced by using cool stars as the background
emitters, but this implies reliable separation of the LISM components
from stellar chromospheric self-absorptions. A combination of column
density and radial velocity data is used to measure the spatial extent
and the physical parameters of the single cloud in which the sun is
embedded. This proves to be an oblate spheroid.