It's a wonderful tail: The mass-loss history of Mira

Recent observations of the Mira AB binary system have revealed a surrounding arclike structure and a stream of material stretching 2° away in opposition to the arc. The alignment of the proper motion vector and the arclike structure shows the structures to be a bow shock and accompanying tail. We have successfully hydrodynamically modeled the bow shock and tail as the interaction between the asymptotic giant branch (AGB) wind launched from Mira A and the surrounding interstellar medium. Our simulations show that the wake behind the bow shock is turbulent; this forms periodic density variations in the tail similar to those observed. We investigate the possibility of mass-loss variations but find that these have limited effect on the tail structure. The tail is estimated to be approximately 450,000 yr old and is moving with a velocity close to that of Mira itself. We suggest that the duration of the high mass-loss phase on the AGB may have been underestimated. Finally, both the tail curvature and the rebrightening at large distance can be qualitatively understood if Mira recently entered the Local Bubble. This is estimated to have occurred 17 pc downstream from its current location. © 2007. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.