The Messenger 119
March 2005

VLTI OBSERVATIONS OF IRS 3:
THE BRIGHTEST COMPACT MIR SOURCE AT THE
GALACTIC CENTRE

JORG-UWE POTT[1,2], ANDREAS ECKART[1], ANDREAS GLINDEMANN[2], THOMAS VIEHMANN[1], RAINER SCHODEL[1], CHRISTIAN STRAUBMEIER[1], CHRISTOPH LEINERT[3], MARKUS FELDT[3], REINHARD GENZEL[4] AND MASSIMO ROBBERTO[5]

[1]UNIVERSITY OF COLOGNE, COLOGNE, GERMANY; [2]EUROPEAN SOUTHERN OBSERVATORY, GARCHING, GERMANY; [3]MAX-PLANCK-INSTITUT FUR ASTRONOMIE, HEIDELBERG, GERMANY; [4]MAX-PLANCK-INSTITUT FUR EXTRATERRESTRISCHE PHYSIK, GARCHING, GERMANY; [5]ESA-SPACE TELESCOPE SCIENCE INSTITUTE, BALTIMORE, MD, USA

Abstract: The dust enshrouded star IRS 3 in the central light year of our galaxy was partially resolved in a recent VLTI experiment. This observation is the first step in investigating both IRS 3 in particular and the stellar population of the galactic centre in general with the VLTI at the highest angular resolution. We outline what scientific issues can be addressed by a complete midi dataset on IRS 3 in the mid-infrared.
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The Messenger 119 March 2005

VLTI OBSERVATIONS OF IRS 3: THE BRIGHTEST COMPACT MIR SOURCE AT THE GALACTIC CENTRE

JORG-UWE POTT[1,2], ANDREAS ECKART[1], ANDREAS GLINDEMANN[2], THOMAS VIEHMANN[1], RAINER SCHODEL[1], CHRISTIAN STRAUBMEIER[1], CHRISTOPH LEINERT[3], MARKUS FELDT[3], REINHARD GENZEL[4] AND MASSIMO ROBBERTO[5]

[1]UNIVERSITY OF COLOGNE, COLOGNE, GERMANY; [2]EUROPEAN SOUTHERN OBSERVATORY, GARCHING, GERMANY; [3]MAX-PLANCK-INSTITUT FUR ASTRONOMIE, HEIDELBERG, GERMANY; [4]MAX-PLANCK-INSTITUT FUR EXTRATERRESTRISCHE PHYSIK, GARCHING, GERMANY; [5]ESA-SPACE TELESCOPE SCIENCE INSTITUTE, BALTIMORE, MD, USA

The Messenger 119
March 2005

VLTI OBSERVATIONS OF IRS 3:
THE BRIGHTEST COMPACT MIR SOURCE AT THE
GALACTIC CENTRE