STScI Preprint #1220

Hubble Space Telescope WFPC2 Imaging of FS Tauri and Haro 6-5b

We have observed the field of FS Tauri (Haro 6-5) with WFPC2 on the Hubble Space Telescope. Centered on Haro 6-5B and adjacent to the nebulous binary system of FS Tauri A there is an extended complex of reflection nebulosity that includes a diffuse, hourglass-shaped structure. H6-5B, the source of a bipolar jet, is not directly visible but appears to illuminate a compact, bipolar nebula which we assume to be a protostellar disk similar to HH 30. The bipolar jet appears twisted, explaining the unusually broad width measured in ground-based images. We present the first resolved photometry of the FS Tau A components at visual wavelengths. The fluxes of the fainter, eastern component are well matched by a 3360 K blackbody with an extinction of A_V=8. For the western star, however, any reasonable, reddened blackbody energy distribution underestimates the K-band photometry by over two magnitudes. This may indicate errors in the infrared photometry or errors in our visible measurements due to bright reflection nebulosity very close to the star. The binary was separated by 0." 239 ± 0." 005 at a position angle of 84^o ± 1.5^o on 1996 January 25. There is no nebulosity around FS Tau A at the orientation suggested for a disk based on previous, ground-based polarization measurements.

Status:

Appeared in: The Astrophysical Journal, 501:841-852, 1998

Affiliations:

¹) Space Telescope Science Institute 3700 San Martin Drive Baltimore, MD 21218 USA

²) Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 4800 Oak Grove Dr., Pasadena CA 91109

³) Astrophysics Division, Space Science Department, European Space Agency

⁴) Dept. of Atmospheric, Oceanic, and Space Sciences, University of Michigan, 2455 Hayward, Ann Arbor MI 48109

⁵) Dept. of Astronomy, University of Wisconsin, 475 N. Charter St., Madison WI 53706

⁶) Dept. of Physics, Carnegie-Mellon University, Wean Hall, 5000 Forbes Ave., Pittsburgh PA 15213

⁷) Dept. of Physics and Astronomy, Arizona State University Tyler Mall, Tempe AZ 85287

⁸) Dept. of Astronomy, New Mexico State University, Box 30001, Dept. 4500, Las Cruces NM 88003

⁹) Mt. Stromlo and Siding Springs Observatories, Australian National University, Weston Creek Post Office, ACT 2611 Australia

¹⁰) Instituto de Astronomi'a UNAM, 58090 Morelia, Michoacan, Mexico

¹¹) Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, MS 170-25 Caltech, Pasadena CA 91125