Photo of a Red Ringed Planet Being Born Out of Dust #18759


#18759 Photo of a Red Ringed Planet Being Born Out of Dust by JVPD
Royalty-free astronomy stock photo of an illustration of how a possible newfound planet spins through a clearing in a nearby star’s dusty, planet-forming disc. This clearing was detected around the star CoKu Tau 4 by NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope. Astronomers believe that an orbiting massive body, like a planet, may have swept away the star’s disc material, leaving a central hole.

The possible planet is theorized to be at least as massive as Jupiter, and may have a similar appearance to what the giant planets in our own solar system looked like billions of years ago. A graceful ring, much like Saturn’s, spins high above the planet’s cloudy atmosphere. The ring is formed from countless small orbiting particles of dust and ice, leftovers from the initial gravitational collapse that formed the possible giant planet.

If we were to visit a planet like this, we would have a very different view of the universe. The sky, instead of being the familiar dark expanse lit by distant stars, would be dominated by the thick disc of dust that fills this young planetary system. The view looking toward CoKu Tau 4 would be relatively clear, as the dust in the interior of the disc has fallen into the accreting star. A bright band would seem to surround the central star, caused by light scattered back by the dust in the disc. Looking away from CoKu Tau 4, the dusty disc would appear dark, blotting out light from all the stars in the sky except those which lie well above the plane of the disc.

Photo Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech [0003-0710-2308-3438] by 0003

Similar Images:

#14676 Picture of Solar System With the Planets Labeled by JVPD
#14675 Picture of Labeled Planets of the Solar System by JVPD
#18755 Photo of Planets of Sedna, Earth, Quaoar, Pluto, Moon by JVPD
#14674 Picture of Planets of the Solar System by JVPD
#27003 Stock Photography of a Yellow Dwarf Planet, Hd 189733, Orbiting The Feiry Gas Giant Planet, Known As Hd 189733 B, In The Constellation Vulpecula by JVPD
#18764 Photo of a Solar System With Two Suns by JVPD
#1380 Photo of Rilles on the Surface of the Moon Rille Runs Through It by JVPD
#1335 Stock Photo of the Solar System Planets Against the Blackness of Space by JVPD
#27006 Stock Photography of The Spiral Galaxy M106 (ngc 4258) by JVPD
#1422 Stock Photo of the Planets of the Solar System With Craters of the Moon by JVPD
#1345 Photo of Spirals of the Milky Way Galaxy by JVPD
#1407 Photo of The Planet Earth Against the Black Background of Space by JVPD
#1329 Stock Photo of Planet Neptune by JVPD
#27004 Stock Photography of A Dark Cloud Resembling A Snake In Space by JVPD
More Astronomy Photos

Keywords

astronomy, coku tau 4, in space, nasa, national aeronautics and space administration, outer space, planet, planets, space, universe


New!

Collections

Save by purchasing this image in a collection.
#1 Astronomy
(56 images)
View