Exploring the Mass Loss Histories of the Red Supergiants

We present long wavelength imaging with SOFIA FORCAST and near-infrared AO imaging taken with the LMIRCam on the LBT to examine the mass loss histories of a coeval population of red supergiants in three clusters. These clusters provide an ideal population to compare the stars' mass loss histories with their derived properties such as luminosity, initial mass, and temperature at a fixed age and in a known environment. Using the near- to mid-infrared photometry, we model the observed SEDs with the radiative transfer code DUSTY, in order to examine both the dust density distribution with radius and evidence for a variable mass loss rate over the lifetime of the circumstellar dust.