Jane GREAVES : University of St Andrews
Observations of structure in debris discs
Well-resolved images of debris disks have only been obtained since the late 1990's, mostly using submillimetre and mid-infrared cameras. The first impression is that every one is different from every other one! but some coherence is now emerging. Symmetric debris disks are rare, with most showing features attributed to perturbations by distant planets. The overall scale of the disks is often larger than the Sun's Kuiper Belt of comets, implying different evolution. I will discuss individual disks and some trends with spectral type and age, and mention some ideas for the future, such as the direct tracking of planets by monitoring the motion of structures within the disks.Last modified: Mon Jul 10 07:54:58 2006