[By observing at two infrared wavelengths, Chen and Jura estimate that the average temperature of the dust around zeta Lep is about 340 Kelvins (150 F), a relatively high temperature for such material. Given this high temperature, the grains may be as close as 2.5 Astronomical Units to the star.

"There must be objects larger than dust around zeta Lep, which may resemble asteroids in our own Solar System, that are creating the infrared-emitting dust by violently colliding with each other," said Jura.

The discovery that the dust around zeta Lep is unusually warm was first published in 1991 by astronomers Hartmut Aumann and Ronald Probst.

Chen and Jura plan to confirm their findings with infrared observations of zeta Lep with additional infrared observations.

We hope to obtain infrared spectra of the emission from zeta Lep," Chen said. "We want to know if the asteroids around this star are similar in composition to objects in our Solar System, and we want to learn if the processes we now see unfolding on zeta Lep can help us understand how the planets in our own Solar System formed."

"The next step is to get an infrared spectrum of this area, which would give us an indication of their composition."]

http://www.astro.ucla.edu/~cchen/hr1998_pr.html

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You think they will be able to use the HST on this system?

Here is Christine Chen's website and Prof. Michael A. Jura.

Cheers,

Marcia
*I love this stuff!