The first science results from ALMA include remarkable images of the dust ring encircling the notorious Fomalhaut. Modeling of the ring's morphology suggests the existence of two planets, each with a mass comparable to the mass of the Earth. Categories: Daily paper summariesTags: ALMA, exoplanets, FOMALHAUT, fomalhaut b, observations(Click to read more...)

TITLE: Constraining the Planetary System of Fomalhaut Using High-Resolution ALMA ObservationsAUTHORS: A.C. Boley, M.J. Payne, S. Corder, W. Dent, E.B. Ford, and M. ShabramFIRST AUTHOR’S INSTITUTION: Department of Astronomy, University of FloridaThe improvement in resolution offered by ALMA. Fomalhaut's dust ring appears unresolved as two bright blobs in observations taken in 2003 by the Submillimeter Common-User Bolometer Array (SCUBA). The ALMA data of one side of the dust ring is overlaid in blue. The star is masked in the center. Source: Sky and Telescope Magazine (click image for link)The first science results from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) have been published! The observations reveal the dust ring encircling the star Fomalhaut with unprecedented resolution (check out the figure to the right). This star, just 25 light years from Earth, has received much attention from planet hunters in recent years, as the star’s exquisite ...

Note: All formatting and links have been removed - click title or image to see full article.