Image of the young nearby 2MASS1612 system (also known as: RIK113) taken with the ESO Very Large Telescope in Chile. (IMAGE)

University of Galway

Image of the young nearby 2MASS1612 system (also known as: RIK113) taken with the ESO Very Large Telescope in Chile.

Caption

Image of the young nearby 2MASS1612 system (also known as: RIK113) taken with the ESO Very Large Telescope in Chile. The image uses near infrared light that was scattered of the dust particles surrounding this young star. While the disk itself is enormous in size (larger than the solar system), it appears tiny on sky (roughly the size of a pinte glass in Galway as seen from Tuam) due to its huge distance of 430 light years from Earth. The structures in the disk indicate that a young gas giant planet is forming in the system. Credit - ESO/C. Ginski et al

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Credit - ESO/C. Ginski et al

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Credit - ESO/C. Ginski et al

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