Dr. Ruth Murray-Clay
Harvard CfA
University of Florida Astronomy Colloquium - Jan. 21st, 2009
Planet Formation in the Era of Direct Imaging
The recent direct detections of planets orbiting Fomalhaut and HR 8799 have opened a new population of planets to discovery and characterization. These planets reside at distances from their host stars that are too large to be probed using radial velocities or transits. I will review current models of the formation of giant planets at large orbital distances and discuss how the newly imaged systems can help us constrain these models.