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Highlights - Volume 475-3 ( December I 2007)

Details: Published on 12 November 2007

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HIGHLIGHTS: this week in A&A

Volume 475-3 (December I 2007)

In section 10. Planets and planetary systems

“Interferometric imaging of the sulfur-bearing molecules H2S, SO, and CS in comet C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp)”, by J. Boissier, D. Bockelée-Morvan, N. Biver, J. Crovisier, D. Despois, B.G. Marsden, and R. Moreno, A&A 475, p. 1131

This article is an interesting presentation of interferometric measurements to refine the orbital solutions and place limits on the dynamical forcing of the comet. The interferometric observations also favor an orbit unaffected by non-gravitational forces, constraining the mass and momentum losses at least during and after perihelion passage.

This is a benchmark study that demonstrates the enormous importance of interferometric observations in the study of time-dependent phenomena in comets and the potential of ALMA to contribute to the study of icy bodies in the solar system.

In section 6. Interstellar and circumstellar matter

“Multi-line (sub)millimetre observations of the high-mass proto cluster IRAS 05358+3543”, by S. Leurini, H. Beuther, P. Schilke, F. Wyrowski, Q. Zhang, and K.M. Menten, A&A 475, p. 925

The evolution of massive protostars is thought to involve the presence of a disk around the young accreting star, but identifying such disks has proven difficult. This paper presents evidence of such a disk surrounding a young proto-B star roughly 2 kpc from the sun.