HUBBLE ATLAS
Edge-On Protoplanetary Disc in the Orion Nebula (Messier 42 , NGC 1976 , Orion Proplyd) — image from the Hubble Space Telescope

Exoplanets

Edge-On Protoplanetary Disc in the Orion Nebula

November 20, 1995 · ESA/Hubble · Messier 42 , NGC 1976 , Orion Proplyd

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Resembling an interstellar Frisbee, this is a disk of dust seen edge-on around a newborn star in the Orion nebula, located 1, 500 light-years away. Because the disk is edge-on, the star is largely hidden inside, in this striking Hubble Space Telescope picture.