Infrared circumstellar shells - Origins, and clues to the evolution of massive stars The infrared fluxes, spatial and spectral characteristics for a sampleof 111 supergiant stars of spectral types F0 through M5 are tabulated,and correlations examined with respect to the nature of theircircumstellar envelopes. One-fourth of these objects were spatialyresolved by IRAS at 60 microns and possess extended circumstellar shellmaterial, with implied expansion ages of about 10 to the 5th yr.Inferences about the production of dust, mass loss, and the relation ofthese characteristics of the evolution of massive stars, are discussed.
