Figure 9 . The relationship between core radius ( r b
) and the black hole sphere of influence ( r SOI
) is tighter than other relationships with the black hole mass , such as stellar velocity dispersion .
Figure 10 ( below left ). A deep K1-band image of HD 95086 from GPI clearly shows a planet , located at about the 7-o ’ clock position and within 0.5 ” of the central star .
Figure 11 ( below right ).
This schematic diagram shows observed locations of the planet HD 95086 b ( black and red points , with error bars ) and numerical simulations of possible orbits ( blue lines ). Gray shaded regions mark the locations of inner and outer dust rings .
Germany ) and collaborators find that a host galaxy ’ s core radius is a robust proxy for the mass of the central supermassive black hole ; it correlates more tightly than stellar velocity dispersion , σ . NGC 1600 is , in fact , something of an outlier on the more common “ M-σ ” plot . Figure 9 shows the relationship between this core radius ( r b
) and the black hole sphere of influence ( r SOI
). A Gemini press release features the work , and complete results are published in Nature .
Constraining the Architecture of the HD 95086 Planetary System
New observations obtained using the Gemini Planet Imager ( GPI ) on the Gemini South telescope , combined with earlier data , provide more quantitative information about the confirmed exoplanet that the star HD 95086 hosts and suggest the presence of multiple planets . Julien Rameau ( Université de Montréal , Canada ) and colleagues directly observed the planet , called HD 95086 b , and determined its orbital parameters . They find the orbital semimajor axis around 62 astronomical units and low eccentricity ( ε < 0.21 ). ( Figures 10-11 ).
The star ’ s debris disk , where such young planets form , produces additional infrared emission . Considering multiple pieces of evidence , the architecture of this system — including the disk , its gaps , and the confirmed exoplanet — likely requires another planet or more in addition to HD 95086 b to explain the observations . See more about this work at the Gemini webpage . The work has been published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters .
N159W : Dissecting Triggered Star Formation with MCAO
Massive stars ( greater than eight solar masses ) shape their surroundings by ionizing the local interstellar medium to create expanding HII regions , which may compress nearby gas and enhance local star formation . Observing this starbirth in situ presents a challenge because dust hides the strong ultraviolet and optical emission of the newborn stars , and all the activity occurs on very small spatial scales . PhD student Anaïs Bernard ( Laboratoire d ’ Astrophysique de Marseille , France ) and collaborators have used the Gemini Multi-conjugate adaptive optics System ( GeMS ) with the Gemini South Adaptive Optics Imager ( GSAOI ) to overcome these difficulties .
Figure 12 shows the result . The image reveals fine details ( on scales of ~ 0.09 arcsecond ) in the near-infrared light that penetrates the obscuring
26 GeminiFocus January 2017 | 2016 Year in Review