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Protoplanetary Disk Around PDS 70

Protoplanetary Disk Thumbnail

The European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope caught the first clear image of a forming planet, PDS 70b, around a dwarf star in 2018. The planet stands out as a bright point to the right of the center of the image, which is blacked out by the coronagraph mask used to block the light of the central star.

About the Object

  • R.A. Position
    R.A. PositionRight ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position.
    14:08:10.16
  • Dec. Position
    Dec. PositionDeclination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position.
    +41:23:52.60
  • Constellation
    ConstellationOne of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears.
    Centaurus

About the Data

  • Data Description
    Data DescriptionProposal: A description of the observations, their scientific justification, and the links to the data available in the science archive.
    Science Team: The astronomers who planned the observations and analyzed the data. "PI" refers to the Principal Investigator.

  • Instrument
    InstrumentThe science instrument used to produce the data.
    SPHERE
  • Filters
    FiltersThe camera filters that were used in the science observations.
    2.11 μm, 2.251 μm
  • Object Name
    Object NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.
    PDS 70
  • Object Description
    Object DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.
    Protoplanetary Disk
  • Release Date
    April 29, 2021
  • Science Release
    Hubble Watches How a Giant Planet Grows
    Read the release
  • Credit
    ESO, VLT, André Müller (ESO)

Downloads

  • Full Res, 2000 × 1692
    png (3.09 MB)
  • Full Res, 2000 × 1692
    tif (9.7 MB)

Related Images & Videos

PDS 70b illustration thumb

PDS 70b Illustration

This illustration of the newly forming exoplanet PDS 70b shows how material may be falling onto the giant world as it builds up mass. By employing Hubble’s ultraviolet light (UV) sensitivity, researchers got a unique look at radiation from extremely hot gas falling onto the...

PDS 70 Hubble Image Thumbnail

PDS 70 Hubble Image

Hubble observations pinpoint planet PDS 70b. The glare of the central star was blocked out for the planet to be directly observed. Though over 4,000 exoplanets have been cataloged so far, only about 15 have been directly imaged to date by telescopes. The team’s fresh technique...

a

PDS 70 Compass Image

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Details

Last Updated
Mar 28, 2025
Contact
Media

Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov

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