Figure 5-4 Visible Image of an Exoplanet The star Fomalhaut, blocked out so that its light does not obscure the disk, is surrounded by gas and dust in a ring whose center is separated from the star by 15 AU, nearly as far as Uranus is from the Sun. This offset is due to the gravitational effects of giant planet Fomalhaut b orbiting the star. This system is 25 ly from Earth. The dimmer debris in that system and between it and Earth scatters light that is called “noise” in this image.