SPHERE is the new generation exoplanet imagers installed at the Very Large Telescope. Since 2015, we have started the large-scale SHINE survey to look for giant exoplanets around a sample of 400 to 600 young, nearby stars (<300 Myr, <150 pc). The main goal of SHINE is to constrain for the first time the population of giant exoplanets in the 5-100 AU range, where previous direct imaging surveys and other detection methods are not sensitive. After describing the SPHERE instrument and the astrophysical context, I will present the current status of SHINE, some of its recent discoveries and the first statistical constraints drawn after 4 years from a sub-sample of 200 observed targets. Finally, I will conclude with instrumental considerations by presenting some evolutions foreseen for the instrument over the next few years.
Local contact: P.-O. Lagage, P. Tremblin
Organization: M. Bugli
SAP