HD 141569 is an isolated[5] Herbig Ae/Be star[6] of spectral class A2Ve[7] approximately 364 light-years away in the constellation of Libra.

According to the researchers, "Considering resolved imaging data from other high-contrast facilities, the HD 1415169A debris disc shapes up to be made of at least three, and potentially four nested rings, with spiral structures on the three spatially resolved rings [...] As such, it is an excellent laboratory for studying dynamically perturbed discs.

Light from the central star which was reflected from dust particles in the disk was captured by Hubble's Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS) at a wavelength of 1.1 micrometres.

At the distance of HD 141569, the crisp resolution of the telescope and camera combination reveals structures as small as 1 billion miles across.

Astronomers believe these disks must form and/or be replenished when older rocks and debris collide and break up into small particles.