We present Spitzer Space Telescope and Herschel Space Observatory infrared observations of the recurrent nova T Pyx during its 2011 eruption, complemented by ground-base optical-infrared photometry. We find that the eruption has heated dust in the pre-existing nebulosity associated with T Pyx. This is most likely interstellar dust swept up by T Pyx — either during previous eruptions or by a wind — rather than the accumulation of dust produced during eruptions.
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Evans et al. (2012) studied this question.
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