Circumstellar Disks and Extrasolar Planets
viewed from the Hubble Space Telescope
Steven Beckwith
Department of Physics and Astronomy
Johns Hopkins University
Director of the Space Telescope Science Institute
The Hubble Space Telescope has had a strong impact on our understanding
of the formation of planetary systems and the properties of extrasolar
planets in the Galaxy. Although not designed for research into star and
planet formation, HST's images of circumstellar disks, observations of
microlensing by planetary-mass objects, and precision photometry of an
extrasolar planet eclipsing its parent star have been enormously fruitful
to discovering the properties of these objects and refining our knowledge
of where planets may be found. This talk discusses the latest research on
extra-solar planets and their formation with HST.