The Debris Disk Around a Young Star
Department:
Exoplanets
Teaser:
"Laura Churcher and UK colleagues at the Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge, and the University of Keele have used the Thermal-Region Camera Spectrograph (T-ReCS) on the Gemini South telescope to obtain the first resolved image of the debris disk around the 12 million year old star HD191089"
Source:
Gemini Observatory Press Releases and Websplashes Download time: Sep 2 2010 8:11 AM ET
Laura Churcher and UK colleagues at the Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge, and the University of Keele have used the Thermal-Region Camera Spectrograph (T-ReCS) on the Gemini South telescope to obtain the first resolved image of the debris disk around the 12 million year old star HD191089 (Figure 1). The value of a resolved image of a debris disk is not only that it shows the radial location of the dust in the system but, as in this case, it can also reveal exciting features such as brightness differences in the disk, which hint at hidden planets.
These observations, at a wavelength of 18 microns, show emission from dust that the central starlight has heated. The image of HD191089's debris disk shows that there is dust between 28 and 90 AU (Pluto's orbit is at about 40 AU in the solar system). Inside the inner edge of the disk there appears to be a cavity that is relatively dust-free.
What does this mean for the status of planet formation around HD191089?…
