This graphic shows a gap in a protoplanetary disk of dust and gas whirling around the nearby red dwarf star TW Hydrae.
The gap's presence is best explained as due to the effects of a growing, unseen planet that is gravitationally sweeping up material and carving out a lane in the disk, like a snow plow.
In the NASA Hubble Space Telescope image at left, a gap can be seen about 7.5 billion miles away from the star in the center of the disk. If the putative planet orbited in our solar system, it would be roughly twice Pluto's distance from our Sun. The image was taken in near-infrared light by the Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS).
Astronomers used a masking device on NICMOS to block out the star's bright light so that the disk's structure could be seen. The Hubble observations reveal that the gap, which is 1.9 billion miles wide, is not completely cleared out. The graphic at right shows the gap relative to the star. TW Hydrae resides 176 light-years away in the constellation Hydra (the Sea Serpent).
The Hubble observations were taken on June 17, 2005.
Credits
NASA, ESA, J. Debes (STScI), H. Jang-Condell (University of Wyoming), A. Weinberger (Carnegie Institution of Washington), A. Roberge (Goddard Space Flight Center), G. Schneider (University of Arizona/Steward Observatory), and A. Feild (STScI/AURA)| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | TW Hydrae |
| Object Description | T-Tauri Star with Disk |
| R.A. Position | 11h 1m 52.98s |
| Dec. Position | -34° 42' 24.77" |
| Constellation | Hydra |
| Distance | 176 light-years (54 parsecs) |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description | The image was created from Hubble data from proposal : A. Weinberger (Carnegie Institution of Washington), G. Schneider (U. Arizona/Steward Observatory), M. Silverstone (U. of Alabama), C. Dumas (ESO), A. Roberge (GSFC), and J. Debes (STScI). |
| Instrument | HST>NICMOS/NIC2 |
| Exposure Dates | June 17, 2005 |
| Filters | F171M, F180M, F204M, and F222M |
| About The Image | |
| Color Info | This image was originally black and white and measured brightness, multiplied by the distance to the stellar position squared. These brightness values were translated into a range of reddish hues. Such color "maps" can be useful in helping to distinguish subtly varying brightness in an image. The central dark spot in the release data is due to the NICMOS coronagraph, not due to a central clearing in the disk. F171M + F180M + F222M |
| Compass Image |  |
| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | A name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object. |
| Object Description | The type of astronomical object. |
| R.A. Position | Right ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position. |
| Dec. Position | Declination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position. |
| Constellation | One of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears. |
| Distance | The physical distance from Earth to the astronomical object. Distances within our solar system are usually measured in Astronomical Units (AU). Distances between stars are usually measured in light-years. Interstellar distances can also be measured in parsecs. |
| Dimensions | The physical size of the object or the apparent angle it subtends on the sky. |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description |
|
| Instrument | The science instrument used to produce the data. |
| Exposure Dates | The date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time. |
| Filters | The camera filters that were used in the science observations. |
| About The Image | |
| Image Credit | The primary individuals and institutions responsible for the content. |
| Publication Date | The date and time the release content became public. |
| Color Info | A brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented. |
| Orientation | The rotation of the image on the sky with respect to the north pole of the celestial sphere. |
