Very cool stuff, the ESO’s VLT (Very Large Telescope) got the first image of a Sun-like star that had two exoplants.
I remember listening to some astronomers talk about how rare it is to capture direct images of exoplants (for obvious reasons), so to collect an image of two exoplants is incredible!
How did they do it?
These images were possible thanks to the high performance of the SPHERE instrument on ESO’s VLT in the Chilean Atacama desert. SPHERE blocks the bright light from the star using a device called coronagraph, allowing the much fainter planets to be seen. While older planets, such as those in our Solar System, are too cool to be found with this technique, young planets are hotter, and so glow brighter in infrared light. By taking several images over the past year, as well as using older data going back to 2017, the research team have confirmed that the two planets are part of the star’s system.
Live view from the VLT when it turns its view onto those planets and doesnt have the SPHERE engaged.
PS, did anyone get any cool pictures of the comet?