Orbit of HD141569

HD 141569 and HR 4796A

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has given astronomers their first views of a dust ring around the star HR 4796A and a dark gap dividing an immense dust disk around the star HD 141569. These images may provide important clues to possible planet formation.

Gap in Stellar Dust Disk May Be Swept Out By Planet

A striking NASA Hubble Space Telescope near-infrared picture of a disk around the star HD 141569, located about 320 light-years away in the constellation Libra. Hubble shows that the 75 billion-mile wide disk seems to come in two parts: a dark band separates a bright inner...

Dust Ring Around Star HR 4796A Offers New Clues Into Planet Formation

A NASA Hubble Space Telescope false-color near infrared image of a novel type of structure seen in space - a dust ring around a star. Superficially resembling Saturn's rings – but on a vastly larger scale – the "hula-hoop" around the star called HR 4796A offers new clues into...

Orbit of HR 4796A

An artist's concept of the star HR 4796A and its surrounding ring, illustrating the size of the ring.

Coronagraph Demonstration

To image the dust ring aroung star HR 4796A Hubble scientists used their infrared camera's coronagraph to eclipse the star's light and reveal the fainter ring that had not been visible next to the brighness of the star.