Computer Science – Sound
Scientific paper
Jan 2010
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2010aas...21542103m&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, AAS Meeting #215, #421.03; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 42, p.286
Computer Science
Sound
Scientific paper
The PICTURE (Planetary Imaging Concept Testbed Using a Rocket Experiment) sounding rocket will use a white-light nulling interferometer to image the exozodiacal dust disk of Epsilon Eridani (K2V, 3.22 pc) in reflected visible light down to an inner radius of 3 AU from the surface of the star. Exozodiacal dust -- the exo-analog of the zodiacal dust in our own solar system, is highly processed 1-200 micron grains shed by comets and colliding asteroids. It is the inner stellar system complement to the more easily observed dust debris disks which extend out to hundreds of AU (the exo-analog of our Kuiper belt, only with much more dust).
A measurement of the brightness and morphology of the exozodiacal dust in the eEri system will provided three very important pieces of information to the exoplanet community. First, by constraining radiative transfer models for this well known geometry, the visible light (0.6 micron) scattering parameters of the dust can be determined and used to probe the small-grain portion of the grain size distribution within a few AU of the star. A better knowledge of the grain size distribution will inform the continuing development of grain processing models for planet forming systems. Second, the exozodiacal dust emission and scattering is the background against which we will observe extrasolar planets. A measurement of this background is vital for designing future direct exoplanet imaging missions. Finally, the success of the PICTURE mission will provide a proof-of-concept for the suppression of starlight using a spaced-based nulling interferometer. This will be an important step towards the use of such instruments on future planet-imaging missions. This work is funded by NASA grant: NNG05WC17G.
Chakrabarti Sangeeta
Cook Theodore Andrea
Hicks B. B.
Jung Paul
Levine Martin B.
No associations
LandOfFree
Expected Results from PICTURE Observations of Exozodiacal Dust around Epsilon Eridani does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.
If you have personal experience with Expected Results from PICTURE Observations of Exozodiacal Dust around Epsilon Eridani, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Expected Results from PICTURE Observations of Exozodiacal Dust around Epsilon Eridani will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-966990