APOD
Astronomy Picture of the Day
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
Proplyds: Infant Solar Systems?
Explanation: Are planets common in our galaxy? Strong evidence that the answer is “yes” was provided in this 1994 image made by the Hubble Space Telescope . A close-up of the Orion Nebulae , it reveals what seem to be disks of dust and gas surrounding newly formed stars. These fuzzy blobs, called “ proplyds ”, appear to be infant solar systems in the process of formation . Of the five stars in this field which spans about 0.14 light years, four appear to have associated proplyds - three bright ones and one dark one seen in silhouette against the bright nebula. A more complete survey of 110 stars in the region found 56 with proplyds. If extra-solar planetary systems are common place, are there extra-terrestrial civilizations out there as well?
| Date | October 17, 1996 |
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| Credit | Credit: C.R. O'Dell (Rice U.), NASA, |
| Authors & editors: | Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) |
| A service of: |
ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U. |