Birth of a Star System: Disc around Young Star AB Aurigae | ESO

Birth of a Star System: Disc around Young Star AB Aurigae | ESO

This image shows the disc around the young AB Aurigae star, where the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) has spotted signs of planet birth. Close to the center of the image, in the inner region of the disc, we see the ‘twist’ (in very bright yellow) that scientists believe marks the spot where a planet is forming. This twist lies at about the same distance from the AB Aurigae star as Neptune from the Sun.

Distance: about 500 light years

The image was obtained with the VLT’s Spectro-Polarimetric High-Contrast Exoplanet Research (SPHERE) instrument in polarized light.

Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)/Boccaletti et al.

Release Date: May 20, 2020

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