Set of Images of a 40-Billion-Mile-Diameter Edge-on Disk Encircling the Young Star AU Microscopii (IMAGE)

NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center

Set of Images of a 40-Billion-Mile-Diameter Edge-on Disk Encircling the Young Star AU Microscopii

Caption

This set of images of a 40-billion-mile-diameter edge-on disk encircling the young star AU Microscopii reveals a string of mysterious wave-like features. Astronomers discovered the ripples are moving across the disk at speed of 22,000 miles per hour. The cause of the phenomenon is unknown and never-before seen in stellar gas and dust disks.

Credit

Credits: NASA, ESA, ESO, A. Boccaletti (Paris Observatory)

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