IRAS observations of the exciting stars of Herbig-Haro objects

Abstract

A list of the exciting stars of Herbig-Haro (HH) objects that have been detected by IRAS is presented. A critical comparison between IRAS and airborne observations clearly indicates that there are spatially extended far-infrared emitting structures associated with these HH-exciting stars. Estimates of bolometric luminosities from the IRAS measurements that show a range from 0.05 to almost 800 solar luminosities for 25 of these stars are derived. This range is not in conflict with the hypothesis that the onset of deuterium-burning terminates low-mass protostellar accretion and that the HH objects are generated at that time. The extended emission zones are identified with the infalling envelopes of these protostars.