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Circumstellar Disk Around HR 4796A (Hubble)

Labeled image of star HR 4796A’s circumstellar disk as seen by the Hubble Space Telescope.

One of the targets Webb will study is the well-known, giant ring of dust and planetesimals orbiting a young star called HR 4796A. This Hubble Space Telescope photo shows a vast, complex dust structure, about 150 billion miles across, enveloping the young star HR 4796A. (The light from HR 4796A and its binary companion, HR 4796B, have been blocked to reveal the much dimmer dust structure.) A bright, narrow inner ring of dust encircling the star may have been corralled by the gravitational pull of an unseen giant planet.

About the Object

  • R.A. Position
    R.A. PositionRight ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position.
    12:36:01.03
  • Dec. Position
    Dec. PositionDeclination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position.
    -39:52:10.23
  • Constellation
    ConstellationOne of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears.
    Centaurus
  • Distance
    DistanceThe physical distance from Earth to the astronomical object. Distances within our solar system are usually measured in Astronomical Units (AU). Distances between stars are usually measured in light-years. Interstellar distances can also be measured in parsecs.
    237 light-years
  • Dimensions
    DimensionsThe physical size of the object or the apparent angle it subtends on the sky.
    Image is about 23 arc seconds across (about 0.03 light-years)

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.
    The HST observations include those from program 13786 (G. Schneider)
  • Instrument
    InstrumentThe science instrument used to produce the data.
    STIS/CCD
  • Exposure Dates
    Exposure DatesThe date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time.
    January - July 2015
  • Object Name
    Object NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.
    HR 4796A
  • Object Description
    Object DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.
    Dusty disk surrounding young star HR 4796A
  • Release Date
    May 29, 2019
  • Science Release
    A New View of Exoplanets with NASA’s Upcoming Webb Telescope
    Read the release
  • Credit
    Image: NASA, ESA, Glenn Schneider (University of Arizona)

Downloads

  • Full Res, 1600 × 1600
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Labeled image of star HR 4796A’s circumstellar disk as seen by the Hubble Space Telescope.
Color Info
Color InfoA brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented.

These images are a composite of separate exposures acquired by the STIS/CCD instrument on the Hubble Space Telescope. The color results from assigning the color blue to a monochromatic (grayscale) image.

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Details

Last Updated
Aug 28, 2025
Contact
Media

Laura Betz
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
laura.e.betz@nasa.gov

Image Credit

NASA, ESA, Glenn Schneider (University of Arizona)

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