VLT telescope imaged massive exoplanet orbiting the most massive star

09. 12. 2021

Astronomers used Very Large Telescope (VLT) to image exoplanet b Centauri (AB) b. The newly discovered planet orbits pair of massive B-stars more than 300 light years away. All the exoplanets discovered up until now were found orbiting less massive stars.

b Centauri star system

Primary star b Centauri A has a little more than 6 solar masses. Not much is known about the secondary component, but it's probably another B-type star. These stars orbit each other in the center of the system.

Exoplanet b Centauri (AB) b orbit both of the stars in the system. It is 11 times more massive than Jupiter and orbits its star 100 times further.