High-resolution rocket spectra of the 1920-A and 1720-A features in the spectrum of Zeta Tauri
High-resolution ultraviolet spectrograms of the B-shell star Zeta Tau reveal two features characteristic of B supergiants, one at 1720 A and the other at 1920 A. The presence of these features in the spectrum of this object shows that they are indicative of an extended atmosphere - either the tenuous atmosphere of a supergiant or the envelope surrounding a rapidly rotating main-sequence star - and are therefore not purely luminosity criteria. The high spectral resolution allows an identification of the contributors to these features. The dominant contributor to the 1920-A feature is Fe III, while the primary contributor to the 1720-A feature is Al II.