Fomalhaut Ring System – Size Comparison with Solar System

Debris Ring Around Star Fomalhaut (HD 216956)

The top view, taken by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, is the first visible-light image of a dust ring around the nearby, bright young star Fomalhaut (HD 216956). The image offers the strongest evidence yet that an unruly planet may be tugging on the dusty belt. The left part of...

Debris Ring Around Star Fomalhaut (HD 216956)

Constellation Location

The star Fomalhaut ("Mouth of the Fish"), 13 times the brightness of the Sun, resides in the constellation, Piscis Austrinus, or the Southern Fish.

Fomalhaut Ring Schematic

Hubble observations show that the bright star Fomalhaut is off-center from its surrounding ring of dust, most likely because of a planet orbiting the star and shepherding the ring material.

Fomalhaut Ring Artwork

This illustration shows a ring of debris encircling the star Fomalhaut. The suspected planet is orbiting inside the ring.

Fomalhaut Ring Artwork – Annotated

This illustration of a ring of debris encircling the star Fomalhaut shows the putative planet orbiting inside the ring. In this picture, the background stars and constellations are identified. This is not the same view we would see from Earth, because Fomalhaut is 25 light-years...

Debris Ring Around a Star: Annotated

Simulation of Fomalhaut Planet and Ring – Face-on

Simulation of a planet and debris ring around the star Fomalhaut. The planet, in an eccentric orbit causes the center of the ring to be offset from the star. This animation is based on research by the independent research team of Adam Deller and Sarah Maddison (Swinburne Center...

Simulation of Fomalhaut Planet and Ring – Inclined

Simulation of a planet and debris ring around the star Fomalhaut. The planet, in an eccentric orbit causes the center of the ring to be offset from the star. This animation is based on research by the independent research team of Adam Deller and Sarah Maddison (Swinburne Center...

Simulation of Fomalhaut Planet and Ring – Face-on and Inclined

Simulation of a planet and debris ring around the star Fomalhaut. The planet, in an eccentric orbit causes the center of the ring to be offset from the star. This animation is based on research by the independent research team of Adam Deller and Sarah Maddison (Swinburne Center...

Fomalhaut Debris Ring (Annotated)

The Hubble image of the Fomalhaut debris ring, adding descriptive labeling and dissolving into the animated model simulation.