It is similar to Jupiter and is located at a distance of 87.5 light years from Earth.
Astronomers using the Very Large Telescope were able to take a photo of an exoplanet orbiting the star AF Leporis. The images of the planet were taken by two groups of scientists using the SPHERE instrument mounted on the telescope, the European Southern Observatory reports.
After two independent groups of astronomers turned the Very Large Telescope at the star, they were able to obtain images of the planet that revolves around her. Both teams used the SPHERE instrument, which uses adaptive optics to correct blurring caused by atmospheric turbulence, and also blocks light from the star with a special mask, exposing the planet next to it.
Read also: A dwarf planet in the Solar System has been found ring
Researchers found that the object is only a few times more massive than Jupiter, making it the lightest exoplanet discovered using a combination of astrometric measurements and direct imaging.
System AF Leporis is similar to Sunny. The mass, size and temperature of the star resemble those of the Sun, and the planet orbits it at a distance similar to that between Saturn and our star. The system also has a debris belt with characteristics similar to the Kuiper Belt.
The age of the system is only 24 million years, which is about 200 times less than the age of the Solar System. Observations of it can shed light on how our system was formed.
Related video
Earlier, an international group of scientists announced the discovery of an Earth-like exoplanet located 72 light-years away from us. It received the designation K2-415b.
