Planet imaged as it orbits its host star

Read more: http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16033?DCMP=youtube
A ring of dust surrounds the star Fomalhaut. Images taken with the Hubble Space Telescope in 2004 and 2006 show that a white dot just inside the dust ring moved in the intervening two years. Researchers believe the dot is a planet that weighs no more than 3 Jupiter masses and lies about three times as far from its star as Pluto does from the Sun (Courtesy of Paul Kalas/UC Berkeley)

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• extrasolar
• planet
• space
• fomalhaut
• new
• scientist
• newscientist

[Tricyklist]

Few here seem to appreciate the phenomenal technical difficulties or the incredible historic implications of these images. Visual proof of the existence of other planets is the required proof for the potential of life to exist elsewhere. To a generation brought up on Star Trek and Star Wars this may seem almost trivial. It is anything but. For the very first time in human history we can finally believe we are not alone. Instead of merely imagining it. Science Fiction has suddenly become fact.

[GlynnyrdSkynyrd]

The answer: NEVER!

The U.S. only entered Europe after it had been destroyed and Russia had done most of the hard fighting against the Nazis . Even then your motivation was only to stop the Russians taking over Europe. (i.e: self interest).

In WW1 the US entered with a small amount of troops in 1917 three years after the war had started.

Its easy to play superhero when you have two massive oceans to separate you from your enemies and the safety of your homeland is not at stake.

[merlyn1900]

Ok NP I accept what I see but it's orbiting a star that will last only 700mn years then it will go nova and kill everything on earth 25 years later. GREAT! Cuts our survival by 3bn years!

By that time we would have evolved beond self awareness as we are now and reverted to the level of Baboons if we are lucky..

If we are intelegent we would store our DNA (sperm & eggs) to de-evolve humanity at lateral points for protection of our intelegence and achivements!

[Supuhstar]

@corthew It's probably caught in the gravity of the nebula's center star, so I think it's safe to assume it's orbiting that, if only very slowly.

[corthew]

@Supuhstar Doesn't have to be a star its orbiting around either.

It could be a piece of jesus toast with the gods eye trying to spread the butter.

You just never know.

[Supuhstar]

doesn't have to be a planet.

[LynxenX]

0:05

Oh mah gaaaaawdy, tis Sauron.

[CONTRAHABS]

It was a collaberation of more than one country that took down Germany ..i mean the nazis.

[Germanboy567]

hemm... german here. and what the fuck how did this video begin as a talk about nazis? let it go for fucks sake yeah we made a mistake so did the usa so knock it off.

[joh04667]

wow cause thats not depressing at all

[jacare45]

A ver pedazo de retard, ¿aqui nadie fue a la universidad ni al instituto?, un planeta a tan sólo 3 años de la tierra se vería desde cualquier patio de noche con un catalejo, apliquen la lógica iditoas los planetas no viejan a la velocidad luz tortolines.

[jjjazzycraig]

eurofag