Other
Scientific paper
Jul 1999
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1999hst..prop.8290b&link_type=abstract
HST Proposal ID #8290
Other
Hst Proposal Id #8290 Cool Stars
Scientific paper
Gl 229B is the only unambiguous brown dwarf. It can be imaged with high astrometric and photometric accuracy only by HST. For the first time, we have an opportunity to study the object over an extended period of time. The possibilities for detecting planets or moons orbiting Gl 229B are quite promising because Gl 229B's small size, mass, and distance from us amplify the expected signals. We will be able to detect a companion if it is almost as small as Earth, and in a close orbit {similar to those occupied by Jupiter's moons} that is favourably inclined. Such a body in such an orbit might well have formed in the accretion disk from which Gl 229B grew. On the other hand, a higher mass companion in a wider orbit will be detected by the reflex motion it induces on Gl 229B itself, with a search radius limited only by the time baseline over which the observations are carried out. Any detection of a companion will allow the immediate determination of the mass of Gl 229B. An additional benefit of the monitoring proposed here is that if there are stationary and long lived surface features on Gl 229B like Jupiter's giant red spot, we will detect them and hence measure the rotation period of the brown dwarf. Finally, variations in the intrinsic luminosity could be caused by weather in its highly convective atmosphere. Even if no planetary companion is detected, this proposal will establish the variability or lack thereof of this unique object.
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