An image of an exoplanet separated by two diffraction beamwidths from a star

E. Serabyn (), D. Mawet and R. Burruss
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E. Serabyn: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, California 91109, USA
D. Mawet: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, California 91109, USA
R. Burruss: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, California 91109, USA

Nature, 2010, vol. 464, issue 7291, 1018-1020

Abstract: Exoplanets in the frame Imaging surveys of nearby stars with large telescopes recently revealed three exoplanets around the star HR 8799, using angular differential imaging. If planets any closer to a star than these three are to be imaged, it will require a coronagraphic system able to reject starlight yet transmit the much fainter light from the nearby planet — and a nearly perfect wavefront to limit scatter. Using the HR 8799 planets as a test target, a team from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory at Caltech has now demonstrated such a system in action. It makes use of a vector vortex coronagraph on a small-aperture (1.5 m) system installed on the 200-inch Hale reflector on Mount Palomar. All three HR 8799 planets were detected, and the final noise is close to the photon noise of the attenuated starlight. This technique implemented on large ground-based telescopes — or on smaller space telescopes — should make it possible to obtain images of very faint exoplanets even closer to stars than the HR 8799 trio.

Date: 2010
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DOI: 10.1038/nature09007

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