Newly Seen Debris Disks from the HST NICMOS Archive
Abstract
By reprocessing the NICMOS coronagraphic archive using improved PSF subtraction methods in the ALICE pipeline, we have obtained new images of 5 debris disks, all previously unseen using classical PSF subtractions. Three of the disks are edge on and two appear to be ring like, one of which is extremely asymmetric. Their stellar hosts are nearby, young F and G type stars (40-90 pc, 12- 30 Myr), including one that is a close analog to the young sun at roughly the age at which terrestrial planets were assembling. This is a 25% increase in the sample of debris disks seen in scattered light. Analysis and modeling of the disk geometries is in process. Given these systems' youth, proximity, and brightness (V = 7.2 to 8.5), these will be superb targets for investigating planet formation, and are perfect targets for studies with GPI/SPHERE and JWST.
- Publication:
-
Protostars and Planets VI Posters
- Pub Date:
- July 2013
- Bibcode:
- 2013prpl.conf2B072D