Do you see that photo above? As far as photos of our universe go, it’s pretty blurry and not all that spectacular, except for one little detail: this is the first photo of a planet orbiting a star outside of our solar system. Ever.
The image was taken by three University of Toronto scientists using the Gemini North telescope trained on the distant star . Up until this point, the only planet-like objects scientists had clearly observed in space did not appear locked in orbit around a star much like our own sun. This discovery could shake up some widely held astronomical theories though, since the supposed planet is located farther from it’s ’sun’ than researchers thought possible.
According to scientist, Dr. David Lafrenière:“Of course it would be premature to say that the object is definitely orbiting this star, but the evidence is extremely compelling. This will be a very intensely studied object for the next few years!”
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