Characterization of Beta Pic from Concordia
Projets soutenus ↦ Characterization of Beta Pic from Concordia

Characterization of Beta Pic from Concordia

The star BETA Pic is famous: it is the first star for which it was possible to image a protoplanetary disk in 1984. It is also around this star that we deduced for the first time the presence of “exocomètes “. In 2008, a planet was discovered about 8 at its star (roughly the distance from Saturn to the Sun). The study of this planet, Beta Pic b, and the dust disk around the star, is a unique source of information to understand these very young systems and the formation of planets. As in 1981, the planet will go back in front of its star between April 2017 and January 2018. This opportunity will not recur before 18 or 36 years. The detection of a transit (the planet passing exactly in front of the star) would be a revolution in the field because it would allow for the first time to have all the physical characteristics of an exoplanet. It would also allow to observe rings, a disc around the star and / or moons, which has never been done before!