This is a set of images from a NASA Hubble Space Telescope survey of the architecture of debris systems around young stars. Ten previously discovered circumstellar debris systems, plus MP Mus (a mature protoplanetary disk of age comparable to the youngest of the debris disks), were studied. Hubble's sharp view uncovers an unexpected diversity and complexity in the structures. As the accompanying scale shows, the disk-like structures are vast, many times larger than the planetary distribution in our solar system, gauged by the diameter of Neptune's orbit. Some disks are tilted edge-on to our view, others nearly face-on. Asymmetries and warping in the disks might be caused by the host star's passage though interstellar space. Alternatively, the disks may be affected by the action of unseen planets. In particular, the asymmetry in HD 181327 looks like a spray of material that is very distant from its host star. It might be the aftermath of a collision between two small bodies, suggesting that the unseen planetary system may be chaotic. The stars surveyed may be as young as 10 million years old and as mature as more than 1 billion years old. The visible-light survey was done with the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS). The STIS coronagraph blocks out the light from the host star so that the very faint reflected light from the dust structures can be seen. The images have been artificially colored to enhance detail.
Credits
NASA, ESA, and Z. Levay (STScI);Science: NASA, ESA, and G. Schneider (University of Arizona)
| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | HD 15115, HD 32297, HD 61005, HD 181327, MP Mus |
| Object Description | Debris Disks Around Nearby Stars |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description | Hubble data for this release were obtained from the following HST proposal (PI: G. Schneider). The science team includes: G. Schneider (University of Arizona), C. Stark (NASA/GSFC), J. Debes (STScI), C. Grady (Eureka Scientific), D. Hines (STScI), M. Kuchner (NASA/GSFC), M. Perrin (STScI), M. Silverstone (Eureka Scientific), and A. Weinberger (Carnegie Institution of Washington), J. Wisniewski (University of Oklahoma, Norman), P. Hinz (University of Arizona), J. Carson (College of Charleston), T. Henning (Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, Heidelberg), A. Moro-Martin (STScI), M. Tamura (National Astronomical Observatory of Japan), H. Jang-Condell (University of Wyoming, Laramie), B. Woodgate (NASA/GSFC), M. Goto (Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, Heidelberg), and G. Serabyn (JPL). About the Objects Object Name: HD 15115 Distance: 147 light-years (45 parsecs) RA: 2h 26m 16s.19 Dec: 6° 17' 33".61 Object Name: HD 32297 Distance: 366 light-years (112 parsecs) RA: 5h 2m 27s.44 Dec: 7° 27' 39".67 Object Name: HD 61005 Distance: 112 light-years (34 parsecs) RA: 7h 35m 47s.46 Dec: -32° 12' 14".04 Object Name: HD 181327 Distance: 169 light-years (52 parsecs) RA: 19h 22m 58s.94 Dec: -54° 32' 16".97 Object Name: MP Mus Distance: 28 light-years (86 parsecs) RA: 13h 22m 7s.20 Dec: -69° 38' 12".01 |
| Instrument | HST>STIS |
| Exposure Dates | August 2010 - November 2012 |
| About The Image | |
| 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. |
