Direct imaging of exoplanets in the vicinity of the star with high contrast instruments

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We have developed a high contrast imaging camera for the Subaru Telesccope. The instrument, named Subaru Coronagraphic Extreme Adaptive Optics (SCExAO) has been greatly improved during our effort. We have developed and installed two high sensitive wavefront sensors in the instrument. These sensors measures in real time, with high accuracy, the small residual aberrations in the beam, and then use a deformable mirror(DM) to correct the aberrations. The two sensors work in visible light (pyramid wavefront sensor) and infrared light (low order wavefront sensor). We have integrated them in the SCExAO system, making it a high performance camera for imaging exoplanets and disks around nearby stars. The SCExAO instrument has been tested on-sky and is now offered for scientific use starting in year 2014. Our team is now helping scientists, both in Japan and internationally, to use this powerful instrument to study exoplanets and disks around nearby stars.