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The Gemini Observatory released the first ever photograph of a distant sun and it's planet a few days ago. Gemini North is on Mauna Kea, Gemini South in Chile:
“After years of development and simulations and testing, it’s incredibly exciting now to be seeing real images and spectra of exoplanets observed with GPI. It’s just gorgeous data,” says Marshall Perrin of the Space Telescope Science Institute.
“The entire exoplanet community is excited for GPI to usher in a whole new era of planet finding.”
http://www.gemini.edu/node/12113
"I'm at that stage in life where I stay out of discussions. Even if you say 1+1=5, you're right - have fun." - Keanu Reeves
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Just a small correction or clarification. Exoplanets have been directly imaged before (e.g.,
http://www.space.com/8680-direct-photo-a...irmed.html), so this is not the first ever image of such an object but the first taken with with this particular instrument.
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Thanks TomK, I knew PetaPixel didn't always get their camera rumors right, but this is really embarrassing.
"...because it is the first ever image of a planet and its star over 63 light years away."
http://petapixel.com/2014/01/09/behold-f...ears-away/
It's still pretty cool (second, third, or whatever it might be). I have the impression that the capabilities of the Gemini Planet Imager will bring a lot more exoplanet photos our way over the next few months and years.
"I'm at that stage in life where I stay out of discussions. Even if you say 1+1=5, you're right - have fun." - Keanu Reeves
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Oh, I suspect the GPI might revolutionise the field. To get a result like this during first light is remarkable. And, BTW, other places made the same mistake about it being the first direct image, so don't feel embarrassed!
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(Bumping....because this is fantasic information!) Mahalo all for these links (Grandson has another assignment where this will be helpful. [
].
Aloha, Mr. Tom, (psst....snow on Mauna Kea today was beautiful! [
])
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One of the two Keck telescopes atop Mauna Kea has confirmed a whole bunch of exoplanats some of which are sort of earth-sized (they're a little bigger) but not quite earth-like. They used a different technique than the Gemini instrument but we're finding planets around other stars all the time now.
http://www.keckobservatory.org/recent/en...exoplanets
I think one of the interesting things that we'll learn over the next few years is if our solar system is unique or not. That's a question we still can't answer but think we might have an answer soon.
Never thought this would happen in my lifetime, but think it might now.
