Direct Imaging of a Circumstellar Disk: Beta-Pictoris a Case Study

Details Direct Imaging of a Circumstellar Disk: Beta-Pictoris a Case Study Direct Imaging of a Circumstellar Disk: Beta-Pictoris a Case Study

Jul 1995

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1995hst..prop.6058s&link_type=abstract

HST Proposal ID #6058

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Hst Proposal Id #6058 Interstellar Medium

Scientific paper

We propose to employ the unique imaging capabilities of WFPC2 onboard HST to obtain high resolution PC1 images of the dust disk about Beta Pictoris. Our goal is to obtain accurate photometry of the disk and to investigate the reported morphology (gaps) and variable disk thickness. The diffraction limited image resolution of WFPC2 will provide information needed to delineate more clearly the optical properties and size distribution of the circumstellar dust. The Beta Pic circumstellar disk currently represents our best candidate for an extrasolar proto-planetary system or possibly a massive Kuiper Belt. It is the only circumstellar disk that is detectable with optical imaging techniques. Due to the large differences in brightness between the central star (V ~3.9) and the disk (V ~16 mag/sq. arcsec), it is only possible to obtain ground-based resolution with a coronagraph. We propose to position the core of the stellar PSF for Beta Pic in WF3, isolating the blooming and saturation from overexposure to this frame. Details of the dust disk normally masked by the extended halo of the PSF core will be revealed in the adjacent CCD frame PC1. This method of imaging the disk is only possible with WFPC2 onboard the Hubble Space Telescope. No other telescope has this imaging capability.

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