Paul Kalas
Research Scientist
Institution:
SETI Institute
Summary
Published articles Show More
Insights on the dynamical history of the Fomalhaut system - Investigating the Fom c hypothesis
The eccentric shape of the debris disk observed around Fomalhaut was first attributed to Fom b, a companion detected near the belt inner-edge, but new constraints on its orbit revealed that it is belt-crossing, highly eccentric $(e \sim 0.6-0.9)$, and can hardly account for the shape of the belt. The best scenario to explain this paradox is that th...
First light of the gemini planet imager
...Published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
The puzzling mutual orbit of the binary Trojan Asteroid (624) Hektor
...Published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters
Asteroids with satellites are natural laboratories to constrain the formation and evolution of our solar system. The binary Trojan asteroid (624) Hektor is the only known Trojan asteroid to possess a small satellite. Based on WM Keck adaptive optics observations, we found a unique and stable orbital solution, which is uncommon in comparison to the ...
Preprints Show More
The AU Mic Debris Disk: far-infrared and submillimeter resolved imaging
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We present far-infrared and submillimeter maps from the Herschel Space Observatory and the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope of the debris disk host star AU Microscopii. Disk emission is detected at 70, 160, 250, 350, 450, 500 and 850 micron. The disk is resolved at 70, 160 and 450 micron. In addition to the planetesimal belt, we detect thermal emissio...
Hubble Space Telescope High Resolution Imaging of Kepler Small and Cool Exoplanet Host Stars
High resolution imaging is an important tool for follow-up study of exoplanet candidates found via transit detection with the Kepler Mission. We discuss here HST imaging with the WFC3 of 23 stars that host particularly interesting Kepler planet candidates based on their small size and cool equilibrium temperature estimates. Results include detectio...
Gemini Planet Imager Observational Calibrations VIII: Characterization and Role of Satellite Spots
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The Gemini Planet Imager (GPI) combines extreme adaptive optics, an integral field spectrograph, and a high performance coronagraph to directly image extrasolar planets in the near-infrared. Because the coronagraph blocks most of the light from the star, it prevents the properties of the host star from being measured directly. Instead, satellite sp...
Misc. Show More
THE FIRST H-BAND SPECTRUM OF THE MASSIVE GAS GIANT PLANET BETA PICTORIS b WITH THE GEMINI PLANET IMAGER
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Using the recently installed Gemini Planet Imager (GPI), we have taken the first H-band spectrum of the planetary companion to the nearby young star beta Pictoris. GPI is designed to image and provide low-resolution spectra of Jupiter sized, self-luminous planetary companions around young nearby stars. These observations were taken covering the H-b...
Coronagraphic Imaging: Keck II AO and HST ACS Compared
Observations of Beta Pictoris b with the Gemini Planet Imager
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Using the recently installed Gemini Planet Imager (GPI), we present measurements of the planetary companion to the nearby young star beta Pic. GPI is a facility class instrument located at Gemini South designed to image and provide low-resolution spectra of Jupiter sized, self-luminous planetary companions around young nearby stars. We present the ...
