AU Microscopii : 3 years of SPHERE observations
5 décembre 2017, par
AU Microscopii is a star in the southern hemisphere which is less massive than the Sun located 10 parsec away (32.6 light years). With an estimated age of 20 Million years, planets are expected to be already formed. The star is surrounded by a dusty disk produced by collisions of asteroids. The disk is seen edge-on.
In 2014, SPHERE has discovered several structures in the form of undulations which have been identified in older images from HST. The comparison of SPHERE and HST images showed that the structures moved by a significant distance. Some of these structures are very fast and probably escape from the attraction of the star.
AU Microscopii is regularly observed with SPHERE in order to understand which mechanisms are producing such intriguing structures.
