Ultraviolet observations of hot stars with circumstellar dust shells

Absolute fluxes over the wavelength range 1200-3200 A are presented for 13 normal early-type stars and 12 early-type stars known to have large IR excess; the data were obtained to study the UV spectral modifications produced by absorbing circumstellar dust particles. It is found that all the Be/shell stars whose spectral types are later than B6 exhibit greatly enhanced line absorption due to circumstellar Fe II. The circumstellar gaseous line absorption in stars cooler than B6 severely complicates the study of circumstellar dust absorption. However, those B and A stars that exhibit the circumstellar 9.7-micron emission feature have a very large increase in circumstellar absorption for 1800 A; such absorption is expected from circumstellar silicate particles.