STIS Observations of the Disk and Outflow of the Herbig Ae Star HD163296

Coronagraphic imaging with the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph on board the Hubble Space Telescope reveals a approx. 450 AU radius circumstellar disk around the Herbig Ae star HDI63296. The disk includes an annulus of reduced scattering at 325 AU and exhibits a flat trend of surface brightness in to 180-222 AU, consistent with a cleared central zone. The disk is accompanied by a chain of nebulosities ("knots") oriented roughly perpendicular to the disk. Followup spectroscopy in the visible and the far ultraviolet confirms the Herbig-Haro nature of the observed knots. The FUV data in particular reveal the presence of a collimated, bipolar outflow, with a blue-shifted Lyman alpha jet that can be traced to within 0.06 arcseconds (7.3 AU) of HD163296 and a red-shifted Lyman alpha component that may be due to infall or to a poorly collimated wind. If the estimated age of this system is correct, these data indicate that protostellar outflows may last up to 10 times longer than previously believed.