Possible image of an exoplanet next to Beta Pictoris

Responsible for transit event 1981?? Inclination 88.5 degrees very,very interesting .It would be great if astronomers would catch the transit so far from host star

A question how close is the planet to hz of the star?is not in?

tommi59 wrote:

A question how close is the planet to hz of the star?is not in?

Host star's luminosity is nearly 9 times that of the Sun (HZ=ca. 3 AUs), so the planet receives at 9.55 AUs as much irradiation as if located 3.2 AUs away from a Solar-type star. So it is quite a Jovian planet. This could be favourable to inner and lower-mass planets, from Neptune to Earth-sized.

The transit is an intriguing possibility but I think next passage in front of its star should happen in 2015, I am not sure. It would be the transiting planet with the longest orbital period.

Would be a good idea to monitor it regularly - if co-planarity and all that, there is a good chance of seeing smaller, closer in planets.

Also, is this a good candidate for looking for exo-moons? With a "bit" of luck a large moon may cause a dip in the planet's brightness. Also the transit curve , if transits pan out, may also give clues to moons or rings.

tesh90 wrote:

Also, is this a good candidate for looking for exo-moons? With a "bit" of luck a large moon may cause a dip in the planet's brightness. Also the transit curve , if transits pan out, may also give clues to moons or rings.

I believe so. If not by their transit across the planet (which could be inflated, having recently formed, making things harder), then by the transit of its moons across the star. There's also the possible (likely?) presence of a circumplanetary disk which could complicate things.

Oh that's nice, also good to see that the inclination is consistent with that of the inner disc (as would be expected if the planet is responsible for the warp). Also interesting to see how it is matching up with the predictions for the planet being responsible for the cometary activity.

I really hope someone's measuring the reflex orbit of the star as well for this system... getting a dynamical mass would be extremely useful for the theoretical models!

beta Pic b position relative to the Debris Disk
http://arxiv.org/abs/1202.2578

Constrains on planets around beta Pic with Harps radial velocity data
http://arxiv.org/abs/1202.2579

Orbital characterization of the βPictoris b giant planet
http://arxiv.org/abs/1202.2655

Summary:
β Pic b may not be in the main disk, but in the inclined disk. HARPS RV constrains the maass to less than 25 Jupiter-masses if orbiting within 12 AU. Orbit is still consistent with being responsible for the 1981 transit-like event.

The near-infrared spectral energy distribution of β Pictoris b
http://arxiv.org/abs/1302.1160

Dusty atmosphere? Higher mass? Furthermore the updated astrometric measurements constrain the orbit further, and it continues to be consistent with a transiting orbit.

Quote :

We also confirm that the putative transit date of Nov. 1981 claimed by Lecavelier Des Etangs & Vidal-Madjar (2009) could still be due to Beta Pictoris b, as the quoted date still falls in a peak of the distribution. Meanwhile, our analysis predicts a possible next transit in 2018, which will deserve to be tentatively observed.

Obviously deserved to observe especially if transit will last 48-72 hours

What's the expected transit depth? Maybe it would be possible to do a "citizen science" project similar to the one done for Epsilon Aurigae?

If the planet has a circumplanetary disk as was hinted at earlier, it could be pretty high.

*dredges SIMBAD*

Ok, so this suggests it is somewhere around 40 mmag, which seems to compare pretty well with some of the exoplanet transits detected by amateurs...

Unfortunately I don't have the equipment to do these kind of observations so I don't know whether it would actually be feasible. I'd guess the length of the transit would make the stability of the equipment an issue.

I recently purchased a 14-inch dobsonian reflector that I intend to observe extrasolar planet transits with once I get a camera. But the major concern I would have is the transit window being obscenely long.

Hopefully it will be possible to narrow it down a bit before 2018, though in some ways the long transit window was why I was thinking of amateur involvement... no way would you be able to tie up a major telescope for that long!

Rather conveniently, this should be a perfect target for Cheops,

http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/ESA_Science_Programme_s_new_small_satellite_will_study_super-Earths

Let's hope it launches on time then!

Independent confirmation of β Pictoris b imaging with NICI
http://arxiv.org/abs/1302.5528

Now it has been observed with a second telescope.

Apparently the Beta Pictoris moving group may be somewhat older than previously thought:

Binks & Jeffries: "A lithium depletion boundary age of 21 Myr for the Beta Pictoris moving group"
http://arxiv.org/abs/1310.2613

This would have implications for the masses of the directly-imaged substellar objects in the group, including Beta Pic b:

Quote :

Similarly, based on an age of 12⁺⁸₋₄ Myr, Bonnefoy et al. (2013) estimate a mass of 10⁺³₋₂ M_Jup for β Pic b, the uncertainties largely arising from the assumed age. Again, an increase in age to 21 Myr results in a 30 per cent increase in inferred mass, which is however still below the upper limit of 15.5 M_Jup currently imposed by dynamical constraints (Lagrange et al. 2012).

It turns out that GPI is actually pretty awesome. "First light" observations, including β Pic b, HR 4796's disk, and Europa.

http://www.gemini.edu/node/12113

http://arxiv.org/abs/1403.0560

Magellan Adaptive Optics first-light observations of the exoplanet β Pic b. I. Direct imaging in the far-red optical with MagAO+VisAO and in the near-IR with NICI

http://www.eso.org/public/news/eso1408/

New science release from ESO

Crashing Comets Explain Surprise Gas Clump Around Young Star

« …“This clump is an important clue to what is going on in the outer reaches of this young planetary system,” says Mark Wyatt, an astronomer at the University of Cambridge, UK, and a co-author on the paper. He goes on to explain that there are two ways such a clump can form: “Either the gravitational pull of an as yet unseen planet similar in mass to Saturn is concentrating the cometary collisions into a small area, or what we are seeing are the remnants of a single catastrophic collision between two icy Mars-mass planets”.
Both of these possibilities give astronomers reason to be optimistic that there are several more planets waiting to be found around Beta Pictoris. “Carbon monoxide is just the beginning — there may be other more complex pre-organic molecules released from these icy bodies,” adds Roberge… »

The Gemini NICI Planet-Finding Campaign: The Orbit of the Young Exoplanet beta Pictoris b
http://arxiv.org/abs/1403.7195

The Gemini Planet Imager: First Light
http://arxiv.org/abs/1403.7520

4% chance of β Pic b transit in Sep-Dec 2017. Planet has passed max separation and should be visible until March 2016. Should re-emerge Oct 2019.

The v sin i has been measured, implying a projected rotation period of 8±1 hr. 
http://www.eso.org/public/news/eso1414/

Nice to see the artwork depicts the planet as being noticeably oblate, but I wonder how realistic the degree of oblateness shown is.