| Abstract |
Advances in high-contrast imaging have produced a new sample of
spatially resolved dusty debris disks with morphologies attributed to
the dynamical effects of planets. Chief among these is the case for a
planetary system around the nearby A star Fomalhaut. Optical
coronagraphic observations using the Advanced Camera for Surveys
aboard HST shows a vast dusty debris belt offset from the star and
cleanly sculpted at its inside border. Follow-up HST images have
further revealed a co-moving point source with apparent orbital motion
18 AU interior to the dust belt. I will discuss both the
observational and theoretical evidence that the point source is a
planet with < 3 Jupiter masses, making Fomalhaut b the lowest mass
planet candidate detected via direct imaging. I will give alternate
explanations and discuss future plans for the detailed mapping of
Fomalhaut's planetary system.
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