Credit: L. Perez (NRAO/AUI/NSF); B. Saxton (NRAO/AUI/NSF); T. Muto (Tokyo Institute of Technology); NAOJ/Subaru
This composite image of the protoplanetary disk SAO 206462 shows the distribution of dust around the young star. The red area indicates where ALMA observed the lopsided dust concentration. This vortex feature may be a crucial step in the formation of planets. The diffuse blue region is the emission from the dust surrounding the star. The apparent spiral features as seen in the infrared (white/light blue) may trace the presence of an unseen object, possibly a planet, perturbing the system. Further observations with ALMA and the VLA are necessary to confirm the spiral nature of this feature.