We report the discovery of a spatially-resolved edge-on protoplanetary disk in the \sim 2-Myr-old MBM 12 young association .
Our near-infrared images of LkH \alpha 263C ( MBM 12A 3C ) , obtained with the Hokupa ’ a adaptive optics system on the Gemini North telescope , clearly show two elongated reflection nebulosities separated by a dark lane , a morphology well-matched by scattered light models of an optically thick ( at near-infrared wavelengths ) edge-on disk .
An optical spectrum of the scattered light nebulosity obtained with the Keck II telescope exhibits a spectral type of M0 \pm 0.5 ( T _ { eff } = 3850 \pm 100 K ) for the central star and contains H \alpha and forbidden emission lines , which may indicate the presence of a jet .
The absence of a near-infrared point source implies A _ { K } > 9.5 toward the unseen central star .
The disk is flared and has a radius of \sim 150 AU ( at a distance of 275 pc ) and an inclination of 87 degrees .
The aspect ratio of the model disk in the J - band is 0.72 .
There is possible evidence for dust settling to the disk midplane .
LkH \alpha 263C is 4 \farcs 115 from the 0 \farcs 415 binary LkH \alpha 263 A and B ( MBM 12A 3A and 3B ) , which is itself 15 \farcs 5 from LkH \alpha 262 ( MBM 12A 2 ) .
Thus , LkH \alpha 263C may be the first disk to be clearly resolved around an individual star in a young quadruple system .
The detection of a faint edge-on disk near a bright star demonstrates both the high angular resolution and the high sensitivity that can be achieved with adaptive optics imaging on large telescopes .