SIMBAD references

We show that ground-based direct imaging detection of extra-solar planets is possible with current technology. As an example, we present evidence for a possible planetary companion to the young T Tauri star 1RXS J104230.3-334014 (=TWA-7), discovered by ROSAT as a member of the nearby TW Hya association. In an HST NICMOS F160W image, an object is detected that is more than 9 mag fainter than TWA-7, located 2.445±0.035'' south-east at a position angle of 142.24±1.34°. One year later using the ESO-NTT with the SHARP speckle camera, we obtained H- and K-band detections of this faint object at a separation of 2.536±0.077" and a position angle of 139.3±2.1°. Given the known proper motion of TWA-7, the pair may form a proper motion pair. If the faint object orbits TWA-7, then its apparent magnitudes of H=16.42±0.11 and K=16.34±0.15 mag yield absolute magnitudes consistent with a ∼10^6.5yr old ∼3M_jup mass object according to the non-gray theory by Burrows et al. (1997ApJ...491..856B). At ∼55pc, the angular separation of ∼2.5" corresponds to ∼138AU, clearly within typical disk sizes. However, position angles and separations are slightly more consistent with a background object than with a companion.