Hubble Directly Observes Planet Orbiting Fomalhaut

This artist's rendition shows a planet circling a star 16 times brighter than our sun. The planet is estimated to complete a full orbit around the star Fomalhaut in 872 years. For a planet three times the size of our Jupiter, it is much brighter than expected. One possibility is that it has a Saturn-like ring of ice and dust reflecting starlight.

Video Credit: NASA, ESA, and G. Bacon (STScI)

Photo Credit: ESA, NASA, and L. Calcada (ESO for STScI)