Tracking Fomalhaut b from 2004 to 2012

Rogue Planetary Orbit for Fomalhaut b

This false-color composite image, taken with the Hubble Space Telescope, reveals the orbital motion of the planet Fomalhaut b. Based on these observations, astronomers calculated that the planet is in a 2,000-year-long, highly elliptical orbit. The planet will appear to cross a...

Fomalhaut System

This is a false-color composite image of the Fomalhaut System taken with the Hubble telescope's Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) instrument in 2010 and 2012. The black circle at the center of the image blocks out the light from the bright star, allowing reflected...

Fomalhaut b 2012

Compass and Scale Image for Fomalhaut b

Schematic of Fomalhaut System

This diagram shows the orbit of the exoplanet Fomalhaut b as calculated from recent Hubble Space Telescope observations. The planet follows a highly elliptical orbit that carries it across a wide belt of debris encircling the bright star Fomalhaut. The planet swings as close to...