Scatterings
As Planets Pop Into View, Scientists Seek More
Imaging technology has teased planets out of the enormous glare of their central stars, and astronomers are dreaming up sensitive detectors to find these elusive worlds.
Newly discovered planet Fomalhaut b orbits its parent star, Fomalhaut. (Inset) A composite image showing the planet’s position during Hubble Space Telescope observations in October 2004 and July 2006.
For years, scientists could detect planets orbiting the stars beyond the Sun only by indirectly measuring periodic motion. Now, imaging technology has finally teased planets out of the enormous glare of their central stars, and astronomers are dreaming up even more sensitive detectors to find these elusive worlds.
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