Direct Detection of Extrasolar Planets

Direct detection of Extrasolar Planets has been achieved for the first time. Previously the existence of planets around other suns has been inferred from subtle modulation of the light emitted by the star. Now light from the planet itself has been recorded directly at infrared wavelengths by the Spitzer Space Telescope (www.spitzer.caltech.edu).

The planets, one with the prosaic name of HD 209458b (153 light years away), the other TrES-1 (489 light years away), orbit their stars more tightly than does Mercury around our sun. This makes the Jupiter-sized planets hot enough to be viewed by Spitzer. (NASA press conference, 23 March; report to be published in Nature, 7 April.)