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December 21, 1984Science

A Circumstellar Disk Around β Pictoris

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Authors

BSB. A. SmithUniversity of Colorado SystemRTR. J. TerrileUniversity of Southern California

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Implication

Optical observation reveals a flattened circumstellar disk extending over 400 astronomical units around beta Pictoris, indicating active or recent planet formation.

Key Points

  • To optically resolve and characterize the circumstellar environment of the young star beta Pictoris following its initial infrared detection.
  • Conducted optical imaging observations of the fourth-magnitude star beta Pictoris to detect and map circumstellar dust.
  • Analyzed the radial decline in surface brightness to estimate particle distribution and disk density geometry.
  • Resolved an edge-on, highly flattened circumstellar disk extending beyond 400 astronomical units from beta Pictoris, more than twice the extent detected in the infrared.
  • Determined that orbiting solid particles follow nearly coplanar paths, with disk mass density falling off approximately with the third power of the radius.
  • Identified disk flattening and coplanar particle motion as evidence of ongoing or recently completed planet formation.

Cite This Study

Smith et al. (1984) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a7952ef684c0941cf320bd2https://doi.org/10.1126/science.226.4681.1421
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