2002A&A...395L...9M

We present J, H and K band coronagraph images of the circumstellar envelope around IRC +10216 (CW Leo) obtained with a near infrared camera, CIAO and the 8.2 m Subaru telescope. A circular occulting mask of 2" in diameter was used to block out the light from the bright central object. The images show 2 collimated radial structures to the NNW and WNW, 2 fan-like structures to the S and NE, respectively, and 3 arc-like structures at a radius of 4 to 5 arcsec from the stellar center. We compare this intermediate size-scale structure to that seen on larger and smaller scales and find evidence for a deviation from spherically symmetric outflow beginning ∼150 years ago. Previous near infrared speckle imaging has revealed a complex clumpy structure on a scale of less than 200mas, and it is likely that at least some of the radial features seen in our images could be due to shadowing by dust clumps close to the star.