HST and Spitzer Observations of the HD 207129 Debris Ring

TL;DR

This study presents detailed imaging and spectral analysis of the debris ring around HD 207129 using Hubble and Spitzer telescopes, revealing its structure, size, and scattering properties.

Contribution

First detailed imaging and spectral characterization of the HD 207129 debris ring across multiple wavelengths.

Findings

Ring has a mean radius of ~163 AU and is inclined at 60 degrees.

The disk appears as a ~30 AU wide ring in scattered light.

The ring shows little brightness asymmetry, indicating minimal forward scattering.

Abstract

A debris ring around the star HD 207129 (G0V; d = 16.0 pc) has been imaged in scattered visible light with the ACS coronagraph on the Hubble Space Telescope and in thermal emission using MIPS on the Spitzer Space Telescope at 70 microns (resolved) and 160 microns (unresolved). Spitzer IRS (7-35 microns) and MIPS (55-90 microns) spectrographs measured disk emission at >28 microns. In the HST image the disk appears as a ~30 AU wide ring with a mean radius of ~163 AU and is inclined by 60 degrees from pole-on. At 70 microns it appears partially resolved and is elongated in the same direction and with nearly the same size as seen with HST in scattered light. At 0.6 microns the ring shows no significant brightness asymmetry, implying little or no forward scattering by its constituent dust. With a mean surface brightness of V=23.7 mag per square arcsec, it is the faintest disk imaged to date in scattered light.