Spirals with a tale to tell

Eso_potw1640a_1024

eso_potw1640a October 3rd, 2016

Credit: B. Saxton (NRAO/AUI/NSF); ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)

This beautiful image, captured with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) features a protoplanetary disc surrounding the young star Elias 2-27, some 450 light years away. ALMA has discovered and observed plenty of protoplanetary discs, but this disc is special as it shows two distinct spiral arms, almost like a tiny version of a spiral galaxy. Previously, astronomers noted compelling spiral features on the surfaces of protoplanetary discs, but it was unknown if these same spiral patterns also emerged deep within the disc where planet formation takes place. ALMA, for the first time, was able to peer deep into the mid-plane of a disk and discovered the clear signature of spiral density waves. Nearest to the star, ALMA found a flat disc of dust, which extends to what would approximately be the orbit of Neptune in our own Solar System. Beyond that point, in the region analogous to our Kuiper Belt, ALMA detected a narrow band with significantly less dust, which may be an indication for planet in formation. Springing from the outer edge of this gap are the two sweeping spiral arms that extend more than 10 billion kilometers away from their host star. The discovery of spiral waves at these extreme distances may have implications on the theory of planet formation.

Provider: European Southern Observatory

Image Source: https://www.eso.org/public/images/potw1640a/

Curator: European Southern Observatory, Garching bei München, Germany

Image Use Policy: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

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Image Details

Image Type
Observation
Object Name
Elia 2-27
Subject - General
Star > Circumstellar Material > Disk > Protoplanetary
Eso_potw1640a_128
 

Position Details

Position (ICRS)
RA = 16h 26m 45.0s
DEC = -24° 23’ 8.2”
Orientation
North is up
Field of View
0.1 x 0.1 arcminutes
Constellation
Ophiuchus

Color Mapping

  Telescope Spectral Band Wavelength
Pseudocolor ALMA (None) Millimeter (231.2 GHZ) 1.3 mm
Spectrum_ir1
Pseudocolor
Eso_potw1640a_1280
×
ID
potw1640a
Subject Category
E.3.7.2.1  
Subject Name
Elia 2-27
Credits
B. Saxton (NRAO/AUI/NSF); ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)
Release Date
2016-10-03T06:00:00
Lightyears
Redshift
Reference Url
https://www.eso.org/public/images/potw1640a/
Type
Observation
Image Quality
Distance Notes
Facility
Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array
Instrument
None
Color Assignment
Pseudocolor
Band
Millimeter
Bandpass
231.2 GHZ
Central Wavelength
1300000
Start Time
2015-07-21T22:47:00
Integration Time
Dataset ID
Notes
Coordinate Frame
ICRS
Equinox
J2000
Reference Value
246.687571119, -24.3856196415
Reference Dimension
888.0, 888.0
Reference Pixel
444.0, 444.0
Scale
-1.41806489352e-06, 1.41806489352e-06
Rotation
0
Coordinate System Projection:
TAN
Quality
Full
FITS Header
Notes
Creator (Curator)
European Southern Observatory
URL
http://www.eso.org
Name
Email
Telephone
Address
Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2
City
Garching bei München
State/Province
Postal Code
D-85748
Country
Germany
Rights
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
Publisher
European Southern Observatory
Publisher ID
eso
Resource ID
potw1640a
Metadata Date
2023-10-11T09:21:02.441716
Metadata Version
1.1
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Detailed color mapping information coming soon...

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There is no distance meta data in this image.

 

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