A STUDY OF LYNDS 1251 DARK CLOUD: II. INFRARED PROPERTIES

  • LEE YOUNGUNG (Korea Astronomy Observatory Taeduk Radio Astronomy Observatory)
  • Published : 1996.10.01

Abstract

We have studied the star forming activities and dust properties of Lynds 1251, a dark cloud located at relatively high galactic latitude. Eleven IRAS point sources identified toward Lynds 1251 are discussed. Estimate of stellar masses, and far-infrared lumnosities of the young stars associated with two prominent IRAS point sources imply that these are T-Tauri stars with masses smaller than $0.3 M_\bigodot$. The low dust temperature of 27 K and low ratio of FIR emission to hydrogen column density are probably due to the lack of internal heating sources. Presumably two low mass young stars do not have enough energy to heat up the dust and gas associated. The dust heating is dominated by the interstellar heating source, and the weaker interstellar radiation field can explain the exceptionally low dust temperatures found in Lynds 1251. The estimated dust mass of Lynds 1251 is just $\~1M_\bigodot$, or about 1/1000 of gas mass, which implies that there must be a substantial amount of colder dust. The infrared flux at $100{\mu}m$ is matching well with $^{13}CO$ peak temperature, while the $^{12}CO$ integrated intensity is matching with the boundary of dust emission. Overall, the dust properties of Lynds 1251 is similar to those of normal dark clouds even though it does have star forming activities.

Keywords