HST ACS/HRC wide view of Fomalhaut b planet in 2004 and 2006
The two objects visible in the image are the planet Fomalhaut b, captured 21 months apart, using Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys. Being able to see that the planet has moved is a strong sign that it is in fact in orbit around the star Fomalhaut. Astronomers calculate that it takes Fomalhaut b 872 years to orbit its parent star, and that it is at most three times the mass of Jupiter
Credit:NASA, ESA and P. Kalas (University of California, Berkeley, USA)
About the Image
NASA press release
| Id: | heic0821d |
| Type: | Observation |
| Release date: | 13 November 2008, 20:30 |
| Related releases: | heic0821 |
| Size: | 720 x 720 px |
About the Object
| Name: | Fomalhaut, Fomalhaut b |
| Type: | Milky Way : Star : Circumstellar Material : Planetary System Milky Way : Star : Circumstellar Material : Disk |
| Distance: | 25 light years |
| Category: | Exoplanets |
Colours & filters
| Band | Wavelength | Telescope |
|---|---|---|
| Optical B | 435 nm |
Hubble Space Telescope
ACS |
| Optical V | 606 nm |
Hubble Space Telescope
ACS |
| Infrared I | 814 nm |
Hubble Space Telescope
ACS |