Poster Abstracts

Name/Affiliation:  Katelyn Allers (Bucknell University)

Title:  Confirming the Age of a Free-Floating Exoplanet Analog

Abstract:
We have discovered a nearby (24.6 pc) extremely red (J-K=2.84) late-L dwarf. PSO J318.5-22 is the first free-floating object that is truly an exoplanet analog, as it has colors, spectra and luminosity that are remarkably similar to the directly imaged exoplanets around HR 8799 and 2MASS J1207. Its position and tangential velocity point to possible membership in the ~12 Myr old beta Pictoris moving group, which would imply a very low mass (6.5 M_Jupiter). Here, we present high resolution K-band spectroscopy of PSO J318.5-22. Our analysis includes determination of vsin(i) and radial velocity. With this new data in hand, we reassess the probability that PSO J318.5-22 is a member of the beta Pictoris moving group.