Concentric Gas-and-Dust Disks Around Star TW Hydrae (Artist’s Concept)

This artist's concept is based on Hubble Space Telescope images of gas-and-dust disks around the young star TW Hydrae. Hubble Space Telescope photos show shadows sweeping across the disks encircling the system. The interpretation is these shadows are from slightly inclined inner disks that block starlight from reaching the outer disk, and therefore are casting a shadow. The disks are slightly inclined to each other due to the gravitational pull of unseen planets warping the disk structure.