The nature of unidentified 12 micron IRAS sources at high Galactic latitudes

A sample of 47 previously uncatalogued objects located above a Galactic latitude of 50 deg, and detected at 12 microns by the IRAS, is studied using near-infrared photometry. Ground-based observations show that the objects consist primarily of late-type M giant stars with long-wavelength excesses probably due to emission from dust associated with mass loss. The sample contains one oxygen-rich giant star undergoing rapid mass loss; an extremely cool (1230 K) carbon star 12560-1656 that may be as far as 10 kpc away; and a luminious quasar 13349-2438. The absence of nearby, low-luminosity infrared sources in this sample limits the space density of field brown dwarf stars. The fact that almost all the IRAS 12 micron sources have stellar counterparts visible on both the red and blue Palomar Observatory Sky Survey prints provides a tool for discriminating ordinary red stars.