The astrosphere of the Asymptotic Giant Branch star CIT 6
Raghvendra Sahai, Galen P. Mack-Crane

TL;DR
This study reveals extended ultraviolet structures around CIT 6, indicating a large circumstellar envelope and providing insights into its mass-loss history and interaction with the interstellar medium.
Contribution
First direct measurement of CIT 6's circumstellar envelope size and detailed analysis of its astrosphere through ultraviolet imaging.
Findings
CIT 6's envelope is about 20 times larger than previous estimates.
CIT 6 has been losing mass for at least 93,000 years.
The star moves through the interstellar medium at approximately 39 km/s.
Abstract
We have discovered two extended half-ring structures in a far-ultraviolet image taken with the GALEX satellite of the well-known mass-losing carbon star CIT 6 (RW LMi). The northern (southern) ring is brighter (fainter) with a diameter of about 15 arcmin (18 arcmin). These structures most likely represent the astrosphere resulting from the shock interaction of CIT 6's molecular wind with the Warm Interstellar Medium, as it moves through the latter. These data provide a direct estimate of the size of CIT 6's circumstellar envelope that is a factor ~20 larger than previous estimates based on CO millimeter-wave line data. We find that CIT 6 has been undergoing heavy mass-loss for at least 93,000 yr and the total envelope mass is 0.29 Msun or larger, assuming a constant mass-loss rate of 3.2 x 10^(-6) Msun/yr. Assuming that the shock front has reached a steady-state and CIT 6's motion…
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