Spatially resolving the immediate surroundings of young stars is a key challenge for the planet formation community. SPHERE on the VLT represents an important step forward by increasing the opportunities offered by optical or near-infrared imaging …
Whether BP Piscium (BP Psc) is either a pre-main sequence T Tauri star at d ensuremath≈ 80 pc, or a post-main sequence G giant at d ensuremath≈ 300 pc is still not clear. As a first-ascent giant, it is the first to be observed with a molecular and …
The raw coronagraphic performance of current high-contrast imaging instruments is limited by the presence of a quasi-static speckle (QSS) background, resulting from instrumental Non-Common Path Errors (NCPEs). Rapid development of efficient speckle …
Aims: We studied the well-known circumstellar disk around the Herbig Ae/Be star HD 97048 with high angular resolution to reveal undetected structures in the disk which may be indicative of disk evolutionary processes such as planet formation. …
Context. Evaporating rocky exoplanets, such as KIC 12557548b, eject large amounts of dust, which can trail the planet in a comet- like tail. When such objects occult their host star, the resulting transit signal contains information about the dust in …
Context. The effects of a planet sculpting the disk from which it formed are most likely to be found in disks that are in transition between being classical protoplanetary and debris disks. Recent direct imaging of transition disks has revealed …
Context. The atmospheric and surface characterization of rocky planets is a key goal of exoplanet science. Unfortunately, the measurements required for this are generally out of reach of present-day instrumentation. However, the planet Mercury in our …
The Hera Saturn entry probe mission is proposed as an M-class mission led by ESA with a contribution from NASA. It consists of one atmospheric probe to be sent into the atmosphere of Saturn, and a Carrier-Relay spacecraft. In this concept, the Hera …
Context. Ground-based high-dispersion (R ~ 100 000) spectroscopy (HDS) is proving to be a powerful technique with which to characterize extrasolar planets. The planet signal is distilled from the bright starlight, combining ral and time-differential …
Context. The Kepler object KIC 12557548 shows irregular eclipsing behaviour with a constant 15.685 h period, but strongly varying transit depth. The object responsible for this is believed to be a disintegrating planet forming a trailing dust cloud …