The planet was photographed using the Very Large Telescope (VLT) of the European Southern Observatory in Chile. This image is actually taken over several Earth years, 4 to be precise (between 2015 and 2019). “All datasets obtained with the SPHERE instrument were analyzed with state-of-the-art image processing tools developed by the PSILab team at the University of Liège. The last dataset considered in our study, obtained in 2019, is crucial for the confirmation of the movement of the planet“, explain in a press releaseValentin Christiaens, researcher at the PSILab of the University of Liège.
We see the star in the center and the planet in formation which revolves around its star by collecting gas and dust. It would be quite a distance away in its solar system, the equivalent of the distance Neptune is from our Sun.
“We managed to detect a protoplanet about 37 AU from the star in all four observations, and it orbits its host star at the expected speed defined by Kepler’s third law“, explains to Forbes, Iain Hammond, lead author of the study who worked at ULiège during his doctorate.
The continuation of the study of this planet in full development will be done thanks to the James Webb telescope, “JWST’s high sensitivity to infrared light should indeed be able to detect thermal emission from hot dust around the planet“, conclude the scientists.