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National Science Foundation • Division of Astronomical Sciences
Gemini GPI images show exoplanet β Pic b and the β Pic circumstellar
disk as the planet moves through its 22-year orbital period
Prepared by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy
National Science Foundation • Division of Astronomical Sciences
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Exoplanet moves around a distant star *
The Gemini Planet Imager (GPI) instrument
on the Gemini South telescope in Chile has
given us our best view yet of an exoplanet
moving in its orbit around a distant star.
Giant planet β Pic b has a mass about ~11x
that of Jupiter, with an orbital distance
similar to Saturn. It is part of a complex
system that includes an enormous debris
disk. Because the planet and disk interact
gravitationally, the system provides
astronomers with an ideal laboratory to test
theories of planetary system formation.
GPI’s capability to image the planet is a
remarkable feat given that an orbiting
world typically appears a million times
fainter than its parent star. This is possible
because GPI's adaptive optics sharpen the
image of the target star by cancelling out
the distortion caused by the Earth’s
atmosphere; it then blocks the bright image
of the star with a device called a
coronagraph, revealing the exoplanet.
* Image is animated in powerpoint version
Prepared by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy