Dust Orbits AB Aurigae

Coronographic image of the polarized light around the star AB Aurigae, showing the distribution of dust in the inner part of a complex disk of material around this star. The shaded middle region is covered to block out light from the star. The inset at the upper right is a blow-up of the depleted region of dust to the north-northwest of the star. This depleted region and the denser clumps near the ends of the white guide-lines suggest the formation of a small body within the depleted region. The scale of the image is indicated by the arrow, which corresponds to about 300 times the distance between Earth and the Sun. The orbit of a planet like Neptune would be at the edge of the black circle.

Credit: The Lyot Project