Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Dec 1984
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1984sci...226.1421s&link_type=abstract
Science (ISSN 0036-8075), vol. 226, Dec. 21, 1984, p. 1421-1424.
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
501
Dwarf Stars, Main Sequence Stars, Planetary Evolution, Stellar Envelopes, Brightness, Disks, Infrared Astronomy Satellite, Scattering Cross Sections, Visible Spectrum
Scientific paper
A circumstellar disk has been observed optically around the fourth-magnitude star Beta Pictoris. First detected in the infrared by the Infrared Astronomy Satellite last year, the disk is seen to extend to more than 400 astronomical units from the star, or more than twice the distance measured in the infrared by the Infrared Astronomy Satellite. The disk is presented to earth almost edge-on and is composed of solid particles in nearly coplanar orbits. The observed change in surface brightness with distance from the star implies that the mass density of the disk falls off with approximately the third power of the radius. Because the circumstellar material is in the form of a highly flattened disk rather than a spherical shell, it is presumed to be associated with planet formation. It seems likely that the system is relatively young and that planet formation either is occurring now around Beta Pictoris or has recently been completed.
Smith Benjamin A.
Terrile Richard J.
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