Re: Possible image of an exoplanet next to Beta Pictoris

Lazarus · by Lazarus on Thu Jul 02, 2009 5:31 pm

Would it be worth merging this with the other beta Pictoris thread?

Let's hope this object can be detected again soon: the combination of direct imaging and transits makes this a very interesting planet, if it can be confirmed.

Sirius_Alpha · by Sirius_Alpha on Thu Jul 02, 2009 6:34 pm

Lazarus wrote:Would it be worth merging this with the other beta Pictoris thread?

Yeah, that's sensible.

They wrote that Bet Pic b might be detectable again by the Fall of 2009. If it is detected, then perhaps we'll hear of it toward the end of 2009, or perhaps the beginning of 2010.

Assuming that the imaged companion candidate is indeed a planetary companion to Beta Pictoris, if the planet is imaged twice, and the locations of the planet in both images line up with the star, than the planet should either transit, or come close to it. I eagerly await a new detection Very Happy

Sirius_Alpha · by Sirius_Alpha on Fri Sep 25, 2009 9:03 am

Another non-detection, with discussions about the constraints of the orbit.

Orbital Constraints on the beta Pic Inner Planet Candidate with Keck Adaptive Optics
http://arxiv.org/abs/0909.4306

Abstract wrote:A point source observed 8 AU in projection from beta Pictoris in L' (3.8 micron) imaging in 2003 has been recently presented as a planet candidate. Here we show the results of L'-band adaptive optics imaging obtained at Keck Observatory in 2008. We do not detect beta Pic b beyond a limiting radius of 0.29 arcsec, or 5.5 AU in projection, from the star. If beta Pic b is an orbiting planet, then it has moved >=0.12 arcsec (2.4 AU in projection) closer to the star in the five years separating the two epochs of observation. We examine the range of orbital parameters consistent with the observations, including likely bounds from the locations of previously inferred planetesimal belts. We find a family of low-eccentricity orbits with semimajor axes ~8-9 AU that are completely allowed, as well as a broad region of orbits with e<~0.2, a>~10 AU that are allowed if the apparent motion of the planet was towards the star in 2003. We compare this allowed space with predictions of the planetary orbital elements from the literature. Additionally, we show how similar observations in the next several years can further constrain the space of allowed orbits. Non-detections of the source through 2013 will exclude the interpretation of the candidate as a planet orbiting between the 6.4 and 16 AU planetesimal belts.

Lazarus · by Lazarus on Fri Sep 25, 2009 4:49 pm

It's being rather elusive isn't it? Pity there seem to be a lack of observations capable of detecting the planet between the discovery observations in 2003 and the paper published in 2009...

Not sure it merits the lack of an (unconfirmed) tag in EPE...

Sirius_Alpha · by Sirius_Alpha on Fri Sep 25, 2009 8:40 pm

As I understand it, it's assumed that the object should be detectable again toward the end of this year.

That paper has a rather interesting chart, which shows graphically, constraints on the orbital parameters of the object (a and e). Through 2012, the orbit gets more and more refined as continued non-detections are made. A non-detection by the end of 2013 would result in no acceptable possible orbits.