October 17, 1996
The Moon has changed phase thousands of times since the beginning of the cosmos, but only once did it shine on the night you arrived.
Proplyds: Infant Solar Systems?
Birthday · October 17, 1996
A little universe, just for you
Your date.
Ready to give.
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APOD published October 17, 1996. Full image credits are on the original APOD entry below. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
Are planets common in our galaxy? Strong evidence that the answer is "yes" was provided in this 1994 image made by the Hubble Space Telescope . A close-up of the Orion Nebulae, it reveals what seem to be disks of dust and gas surrounding newly formed stars. These fuzzy blobs, called "proplyds", appear to be infant solar systems in the process of formation. Of the five stars in this field which spans about 0.14 light years, four appear to have associated proplyds - three bright ones and one dark one seen in silhouette against the bright nebula. A more complete survey of 110 stars in the region found 56 with proplyds. If extra-solar planetary systems are common place, are there extra-terrestrial civilizations out there as well?