Astronomers using the HARPS planet-hunting machine at ESO’s La Silla Observatory in Chile have made the first-ever direct detection of the spectrum of visible light reflected off an exoplanet. These observations also revealed new properties of this famous object, the first exoplanet ever discovered around a normal star: 51 Pegasi b. The result promises an exciting future for this technique, particularly with the advent of next generation instruments, such as ESPRESSO, on the VLT, and future telescopes, such as the E-ELT.
The release, images and videos are available on:
http://www.eso.org/public/australia/news/eso1517/
Space Scoop - the children's version of this release is available at: http://www.eso.org/public/australia/news/eso1517/kids/
Kind regards,
The ESO Education and Public Outreach Department
22 April 2015
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