Robert David Blum

A 2μm narrow-band survey for emission-line stars in the inner Galaxy

We have begun a search for emission-line stars toward the inner Galaxy using narrow-band photometry centered on the emission lines of He I 2.06μm, C IV 2.08μm, H I Brγ 2.166μm and He II 2.189μm. The census of Wolf-Rayet and other emission-line stars in the Galaxy is incomplete, owing to the large extinction at optical and shorter wavelengths toward the inner Galaxy. However, these massive, evolved stars are bright and can be detected at large distances in the near infrared.