NEW OBSERVATIONS OF THE BETA-PICTORIS CIRCUMSTELLAR DISK WITH THE JHUADAPTIVE OPTICS CORONAGRAPH

We report new coronagraphic observations of the beta Pictoris circumst ellar disk with the JHU Adaptive Optics Coronagraph. We are able to im age the inner region of the disk to a radius of 40 AU from the star, a nd find an abrupt change in the gradient of the disk's midplane surfac e brightness at approximately 100 AU. Our results are consistent with recently published models which propose two disk components in order t o unify optical, IR and IRAS data.