Two images (1997 on the top and 2012 on the bottom) of an edge on dust disk, colored blue-white and emanating from a central point. The central star is blocked from view by a black splotch. The 1997 view looks very slightly different than the 2012 view.

Circumstellar Debris Disk Around Beta Pictoris

The 2012 image (bottom) is the most detailed picture to date of a large, edge-on, gas-and-dust disk encircling the 20-million year-old star Beta Pictoris. The 1997 Hubble image (top) shows the disk's dust distribution has barely changed over 15 years.

Image Credit: NASA, ESA, University of Arizona

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Circumstellar Debris Disk Around Beta Pictoris

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