[Top] - This NASA Hubble Space Telescope image of a portion of a vast dust disk around the star Beta Pictoris shows that the disk is thinner than thought previously. Estimates based on the Hubble image place the disk's thickness as no more than one billion miles (600 million kilometers), or about 1/4 previous estimates from ground-based observations. The disk is tilted nearly edge-on to Earth. Because the dust has had enough time to settle into a flat plane, the disk may be older than some previous estimates. A thin disk also increases the probability that comet-sized or larger bodies have formed through accretion in the disk. Both conditions are believed to be characteristic of a hypothesized circumstellar disk around our own Sun, which was a necessary precursor to the planet-building phase of our Solar Systems, according to current theory. [Bottom] - For comparison the disk appears four times thicker in a ground-based image of Beta Pictoris due to the limitation of atmospheric seeing. This red-light image (approximately 7,000 Angstroms) image was obtained at the Mauna Kea Observatory, Hawaii, on the 2.2-meter telescope. (Kalas, P., & Jewitt, D. 1995, AJ, 110, 794)
Credits
Top Credit: Al Schultz (CSC/STScI) and NASA Bottom Credit: Paul Kalas (University of Hawaii 2.2-m telescope, Mauna Kea) HST imaging team: Al Schultz, Helen Hart (Computer Sciences Corporation), Kent Reinhard (Doane College, NE), Fred Bruhweiler, Mike DiSanti (Catholic University of America), Glenn Schneider (Steward Observatory, University of Arizona), and NASA.| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | Beta Pictoris |
| R.A. Position | 05h 47m 17.08s |
| Dec. Position | -51° 3' 59.45" |
| 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. |
