A Spectroscopic Reconnaissance of Ultraviolet-bright Stars1

ABSTRACT. We have carried out spectroscopic observations and made preliminary classifications of 62 UV-bright stars identified by H. H. Lanning on plates taken by A. Sandage. The goal was to search for “interesting” objects, such as emission-line stars, hot subdwarfs, and high-gravity stars. Our targets were grouped into two samples, a bright ( ) sample of 35 stars observed with the Kitt Peak 2.1 m telescope and a faint ( ) samplem! 13 13! m! 16B B of 27 stars observed with the Hobby-Eberly Telescope. We find 39 % fairly normal O–mid-B stars, 15 % late B–late A stars, and 32 % F–G stars, with 13 % of the stars being high-gravity objects, composite, or otherwise peculiar. Included are four emission-line stars and three composite systems. Thus, one of every 10 Lanning stars is “interesting ” and may deserve individual study. Stars in the bright sample are often found to be late F or early G stars, although this sample does include interesting stars as well. No such large contamination occurs among the fainter stars, however, owing to “deselection ” of these stars by interstellar reddening in the low-latitude fields of the survey. 1