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"The latest results on the Fomalhaut planetary system & the Gemini
Planetary Imager"
Prof. Paul Kalas
University of California, Berkeley, USA

When:  Monday 11 August 2014 at 13:00
Where: 2nd Floor Seminar Room

Abstract:

High contrast imaging observations with HST show that the nearby star
Fomalhaut is surrounded by a dusty debris belt and a candidate planet
Fomalhaut b. Among the directly imaged exoplanetary systems, Fomalhaut
has many unexpected characteristics. I will briefly review the latest
findings suggesting that Fomalhaut is currently undergoing a directly
observable dynamical upheaval. Also in 2013-2014, we successfully
commissioned the Gemini Planet Imager at the Gemini South 8-m telescope.
I will review the various elements of this project, summarize the first
science papers, and describe our science goals over the next three
years.


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Paul Kalas obtained his BSc from the Univ. of Michigan at Ann Arbor
and his PhD from the Univ. of Hawai at Manoa in 1996.  He is currently
an Associate Adjunct Professor at the Univ. of California,Berkeley. 
For more information on Paul you may visit his web page at:
http://astro.berkeley.edu/~kalas/