Dr. Inseok Song
Gemini Observatory

University of Florida Astronomy Colloquium - Feb 3rd, 2006

Extra-Solar Planetary Systems

The Origin of the Solar System has been a fundamental theme of astronomy from the beginning and understanding the formation of planets and their evolution is still one of major goals of contemporary astronomy. With the current state-of-the-art observing instruments and techniques, it is possible to achieve a brightness contrast ratio of ~10^E-4 at ~1 arcsec away from the central stars which enables us to detect self luminous young planets around nearby young stars. In my talk, I will review current efforts on direct imaging detection of extra-solar planets and recent discoveries. I will also describe several on-going projects on dusty circumstellar disks as the birthplaces (or remnants) of planetary systems.