Observation History
In 1984 a debris disk was detected around the star Vega using the IRAS satellite. Initially this was believed to be a protoplanetary disk, but it is now thought to be a debris disk due to the lack of gas in the disk and the age of the star. Subsequently irregularities have been found in the disk, which may be indicative of the presence of planetary bodies. Similar discoveries of debris disks were made around the stars Fomalhaut and Beta Pictoris.
The nearby star 55 Cancri, a system that is also known to contain five planets, was reported to also have a debris disk, but that detection could not be confirmed. Structures in the debris disk around Epsilon Eridani suggest perturbations by a planetary body in orbit around that star, which may be used to constrain the mass and orbit of the planet.
Read more about this topic: Debris Disk
Famous quotes containing the words observation and/or history:
“Let observation with extensive view;
Survey mankind, from China to Peru;”
—Samuel Johnson (1709–1784)
“I think that Richard Nixon will go down in history as a true folk hero, who struck a vital blow to the whole diseased concept of the revered image and gave the American virtue of irreverence and skepticism back to the people.”
—William Burroughs (b. 1914)