| Abstract |
The Beta Pictoris system is unique: It is a young (20Ma), very bright star, with a debris disk seen edge-on, and a directly imaged planet, Beta Pic b. In addition, the planet, which has a probable 18 years orbital period, is due to nearly transit in front of its star during 2017. In 1981 a mysterious event has been invoked as possibly due to the same planet transiting the star. The unique opportunity of this configuration led an international consortium to follow the star photometrically and by radial velocimetry. I will present the observations conducted from the Concordia base, Antarctica with the ASTEP photometric telescope continuously from March to October 2017. The lightcurves of excellent quality allow a clear determination of the pulsation frequencies of the star (a Delta Scuti) and the possibility to detect signs of Beta Pic b or its perturbations of the disk, possible rings or large moons, and additional planets. At the time of the presentation, the observations will have just ended, enabling a complete analysis. |
