MPE: First Direct Observation of Exoplanet β Pictoris c

[bystander]

First Direct Observation of Exoplanet β Pictoris c
Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics | 2020 Oct 02

These schematic images show the geometry of the β Pictoris system: The image on the left shows both the star and the two planets embedded in the dusty disk in the orientation as visible from the vantage point of the Solar System. This view was constructed using the information from actual observations. The middle panel contains an artist impression of the disk / planet system. The image on the right shows the dimensions of the system when viewed from above and previous observations of β Pictoris b (orange diamonds and red circles) and the new direct observations of β Pictoris c (green circles). The exact orbit of planet c is still somewhat uncertain (fuzzy white area). Credit: Axel Quetz / MPIA Graphics Department

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Astronomers using the GRAVITY instrument at the VLT telescopes in Chile have now obtained the first direct confirmation of an exoplanet discovered by radial-velocity. As the planet “β Pictoris c” is in a close orbit around its parent star, this is the first time that the faint glint of the exoplanet next to the glare of the star has been directly observed. With these observations, astronomers can obtain both the flux and dynamical masses of exoplanets, allowing them to put closer constrains on formation models for exoplanets.

Combining the light of the four large VLT telescopes, astronomers in the GRAVITY collaboration have managed to directly observe the glint of light coming from an exoplanet close to its parent star. The planet called “β Pictoris c” is the second planet found to orbit its parent star. It was originally detected by the so-called ‘radial velocity’, which measures the drag and pull on the parent star due to the planet’s orbit. β Pictoris c is so close to its parent star that even the best telescopes were not able to directly image the planet so far.

... Radial velocity measurements have been used for many decades by astronomers, and have allowed for the detection of hundreds of exoplanets. But never before were the astronomers able to obtain a direct observation of one of those planets. This was only possible because the GRAVITY instrument, situated in a laboratory underneath the four telescopes it uses, is a very precise instrument. It observes the light from the parent star with all four VLT telescopes at the same time and combines them into a virtual telescope with the detail required to reveal β Pictoris c. ...

First Joint Measurement of Exoplanet's Mass and Brightness
Max Planck Institute for Astronomy | 2020 Oct 02

Direct Confirmation of the Radial-Velocity Planet β Pictoris c ~ M. Nowak et al

• Astronomy & Astrophysics 642:L2 (Oct 2020) DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/202039039 (pdf)

Unveiling the β Pictoris System, Coupling High Contrast Imaging,
Interferometric, and Radial Velocity Data ~ A. M. Lagrange et al

• Astronomy & Astrophysics 642:A18 (Oct 2020) DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/202038823 (pdf)