Portrait of an Infant Solar System
Explanation:
This infant solar system
was discovered posing along the lonely
outskirts of the
Rho Ophiuchi
dark cloud,
a star forming region 500 light-years from Earth.
Enlarged in this
infrared false-color portrait from the European
Southern Observatory's
Antu
telescope, the dark dusty disk of
planet-forming
material lies edge-on, neatly dividing
two small nebulae which reflect light from a hidden, youthful
central star.
Enthusiastically nicknamed the "Flying Saucer", the
circumstellar
disk is about 300 astronomical units across
(1
a.u.
is the Earth-Sun distance)
or about 5 times the diameter of Neptune's orbit.
The twin
reflection nebulae
have clearly different colors for
reasons which still remain a mystery, but the relatively
isolated neighborhood of the natal solar system is a stroke of luck.
Planets should
be able
to develop within the dusty disk free from the
destructive influence
of radiation and winds from any
nearby massive hot stars usually found in young star clusters.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
