Reconstructed image from the NIFS integral field spectroscopy

Reconstructed image from the NIFS integral field spectroscopy showing the H2 image at 2.122 microns with the narrow contour of the [Fe II] emission. The "dark spot" is where the light is attenuated by the 0.2 arcsecond-size occulting disk which was used to block out the star's light. HL Tau is an extended star seen partly in scattered light, so the occulting disk did not block all of the light. The field shown corresponds to about 3 x 3 arcseconds².