Keck Interferometer MAKES DEBUT DISCOVERY July 1, 2003 KAMUELA,
Hawaii (July 1st, 2003) Astronomers have observed a young star
ringed by a swirling disc that may spin off planets, marking the
first published science observation using two linked 10-meter
(33-foot) telescopes in Hawaii. The linked telescopes at the
W.M. Keck Observatory on Mauna Kea, known as the Keck
Interferometer, comprise the world’s largest optical telescope
system. The observation was made of DG Tau, a young star that
has not yet begun to burn hydrogen in its core. Such stars are
called T-Tauri objects. Observations of DG Tau were made on
October 23, 2002, and February 13, 2003, and the findings will
appear in an upcoming issue of the Astrophysical Journal
Letters. “We’re trying to measure the size of the hot material
in the dust disc around DG Tau, where planets may form,” said
Dr. Rachel Akeson, leader of the study team and an astronomer at
the Michelson Science Center at the California Institute of
Technology in Pasadena. “Studies like