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Exoplanet Embedded in Stellar Disk (Illustration)

Illustration of an exoplanet orbiting within the dusky disk surrounding its star.

This illustration shows a planet orbiting within the dusty disk surrounding its star. The edge of the vast disk is shown in the background as the curving cloud-like feature that appears to intersect the 200-million-year-old star. Some of the dust in a scenario like this may also make up a Saturn-like ring around the orbiting planet.

About the Object

  • Constellation
    ConstellationOne of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears.
    Piscis Austrinus
  • 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.
    25 light-years (8 parsecs)
  • Object Name
    Object NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.
    Fomalhaut b
  • Object Description
    Object DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.
    Exoplanet Orbiting Fomalhaut
  • Release Date
    May 31, 2018
  • Credit
    Image: NASA, ESA, STScI, Luis Calçada (ESO)

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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, STScI, Luis Calçada (ESO)

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