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Gemini e-Newscast #59
May 21, 2014
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Direct Imaging of an Unusual Exoplanet
Marie-Ève Naud (Université de Montréal, Canada) and collaborators report the discovery of a planetary-mass companion of GU Psc, separated by 42 arcseconds (equivalent to about 200 Astronomical Units). The team had originally identified companion candidates based on red colors in a survey using the Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph (GMOS) at Gemini South. Subsequent near-infrared imaging and spectroscopy suggested a T dwarf spectral type. Further spectroscopy using the Gemini Near-Infrared Spectrograph (GNIRS) on Gemini North and space photometry confirmed a spectral type around T3.5. The host star is identified as a likely member of the AB Doradus Moving Group, which sets an age of 100 Myr, and therefore a companion mass of 9 to 13 times the mass of Jupiter. Such systems are not likely to be common: this is the only widely-separated companion found in the sample of over 90 stars. The joint press release from Gemini, the Université de Montréal, Observatoire du Mont-Mégantic, and Centre for Research in Astrophysics of Québec is posted, and the results are published in The Astrophysical Journal.
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The planet GU Psc b and its host star GU Psc in a composite of images from GMOS South (i in blue and z in green) and a near-infrared image (J in red) from the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope. GU Psc b appears red because it is bright in the near-infrared.
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Complex Outflow Structure of UY Aur
Jets and outflows are ubiquitous in single young stars, a regular feature of their formation process, but only a few examples in binary systems have been identified. Tae-Soo Pyo (Subaru Telescope, National Astronomy Observatory of Japan) and colleagues have used the Near-Infrared Integral Field Spectrometer (NIFS) on Gemini North with the Altair adaptive optics system to examine the binary UY Aurigae. At high spatial resolution, and with simultaneous spectroscopic information, this system reveals a complicated structure, including a wide, open outflow from the primary star and a well-collimated jet from the secondary, along with circumstellar and circumbinary disks. More information is available at Gemini, based on the Subaru Telescope press release, and the complete results are published in The Astrophysical Journal.
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Emission images of UY Aur around [Fe II] λ1.257 μm. The plus signs mark the stars, which are masked out and designated as “A” and “B” in the continuum image. Large tick marks correspond to measures of 1 arcsecond (equivalent to 140 Astronomical Units). The black filled circles at the bottom right corners show the spatial resolution (=0.12"). Credit: National Astronomical Observatory of Japan.
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FLAMINGOS-2 Back on the Sky at Gemini South
FLAMINGOS-2 is back on the Gemini South telescope. After remediation work in April and May, the final laboratory tests showed improved image quality, now within specifications and uniform across the full 6 arcminute field of view. Nighttime on-sky checks have gone well, and regular science observations have resumed.
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GPI Early Science Observations
Gemini Planet Imager (GPI) Early Science observations were conducted in April. Thirteen of the sixteen approved programs were completed, with partial data obtained for an additional program. Feedback from Early Science Principal Investigators will help Gemini support regular GPI use, starting in the 2014B semester.
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