We present millimeter imaging observations in the 1200 micron continuum of
the disk around beta Pictoris. With the 25 arcsec beam, the beta Pic disk is
unresolved perpendicularly to the disk plane (< 10 arcsec), but slightly
resolved in the northeast-southwest direction (26 arcsec). Peak emission is
observed at the stellar position. A secondary maximum is found 1000 AU along
the disk plane in the southwest, which does not positionally coincide with a
similar feature reported earlier at 850 micron. Arguments are presented which
could be seen in support of the reality of these features. The observed
submm/mm emission is consistent with thermal emission from dust grains, which
are significantly larger than those generally found in the interstellar medium,
including mm-size particles, and thus more reminiscent of the dust observed in
protostellar disks. Modelling the observed scattered light in the visible and
the emission in the submm/mm provides evidence for the particles dominating the
scattering in the visible/NIR and those primarily responsible for the thermal
emission at longer wavelengths belonging to different populations.Comment: 6 pages, 3 postscript figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy
and Astrophysic