June2005
Gemini Scientist Receives Prestigious Young Researcher Award G
emini Observatory is proud to announce
first time in history, they successfully imaged a
that Inseok Song, assistant astronomer at
bound extra solar planet orbiting a celestial object
Gemini North has won the prestigious
other than our Sun (known as planet 2M1207b).
2005 Outstanding Young Researcher Award
Major mass media, including BBC and CNN,
(OYRA) given by the Association of Korean
reported this discovery and in-depth description
Physicists of America. The honor, bestowed
of this system has been published as an article in
during the American Physical Society’s spring
Astronomy and Astrophysics (2004, volume 425, page
2005 meeting in Los Angeles, includes a $1,000
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cash award. It recognizes and promotes excellence in research by outstanding young ethnic Korean
Dr. Song is also studying sites of ongoing planet
physicists in North America who are working at
formation using both Gemini and Keck telescopes.
research-doctorate institutions, and industrial and
He recently found a young solar system analog
government laboratories.
believed to harbor a planet at 1 AU (the distance between the Sun and Earth). The system has
Dr. Song was nominated particularly for his
about 10,000 times more asteroidal material than
work in the search for Jupiter-like planets and
our own system currently has, and it seems to be
the formation and evolution of planetary systems.
undergoing a period of very frequent collisions
In making the award, the OYRA committee also
among planetesimals.
cited his contributions to the systematic search for extrasolar planets using the Hubble Space
Frequent collisions in this star system are
Telescope. He is a Principal Investigator on a large
remarkably similar to the lunar creation event in
HST program titled “Coronagraphic Imaging
our own Earth-Moon history. This discovery will
Search for Giant Gas Planets around Young Nearby
be published soon in a major refereed journal.
Stars.” Currently, eight Ph.Ds from three different countries are involved in this program. From
Dr. Song currently manages four research grants
observed data, Dr. Song and his team have found a
totalling a half-million dollars and has brought two
handful of very promising candidate planets.
post-doctoral researchers on board at Gemini. The Observatory is very proud of his achievements,
In addition to his HST planet search program,
and looks forward to many more exciting science
Dr. Song and his team are working with French
results from Dr. Song’s research group.
astronomers using the 8-meter telescope at the
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European Southern Observatory in Chile. For the
Gemini Observatory