Help Conceptualize the Planet Formation Imager
John Monnier University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
The Planet Formation Imager (PFI) Kick-off Committee announces an open call for participation in PFI concept studies. The ambitious goal of the PFI is to image planet-forming disks in nearby star-forming regions with high enough spatial resolution to resolve the key physical processes at work — to witness planet formation live as it happens with ~0.1 AU resolution or better.
Scientists from more than a dozen different institutes in six countries have begun planning for initial concept studies, an effort led by project director John Monnier (University of Michigan), project scientist Stefan Kraus (University of Exeter), and project architect David Buscher (University of Cambridge). Our top priorities for the next 12-24 months will be to define the most compelling areas of science to drive the instrument concept and at the same time determine feasible architectures for meeting the science goals.
We seek contributions from the international astronomical community and invite participants to join the PFI Science Working Group or the Technical Working Group. For more information and to sign up to participate, please see the PFI website. Please note that the initial deadline to join the working groups is 16 June 2014.
Contact [email protected] for more information.