Far Ultraviolet Fluorescence of Molecular Hydrogen in IC 63

Abstract

We present observations of H_2 fluorescence at wavelengths between 1000 and 1200 A from the bright reflection nebula IC 63. Observations were performed with the Berkeley spectrograph on the ORFEUS-SPAS II mission. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first detection of astrophysical H_2 fluorescent emission at these wavelengths (excluding planetary atmospheres). The shape of the spectrum is well described by the model of Sternberg (1989). The absolute intensity, however, is fainter than an extrapolation from observations at longer ultraviolet wavelengths (Witt et al. 1989) by a factor of ten. Of the mechanisms that might help reconcile these observations, optical depth effects in the fluorescing H_2 itself are the most promising (or at least the most difficult to rule out).