HST-GHRS OBSERVATIONS OF ALPHA-PISCIS-AUSTRINI - EVIDENCE FOR NO GAS CONTENT IN THE CIRCUMSTELLAR ENVIRONMENT

The origin of the gaseous disk around the star beta Pictoris is still unclear. A way to progress is to search for gas signatures in the envi ronment of other stars presenting known IR excesses as initially disco vered with the IRAS satellite. Recently, Cheng et al. (1994) reported the possible detection of circumstellar gas absorptions in the spectru m of alpha PsA from IUE archival data. Here, we present observations d one in the same line of sight with the GHRS on board the Space Telesco pe. No circumstellar absorption lines are observed. The implications o f such a non detection are briefly discussed.