Existence of exoplanet 'Fomalhaut b' called into question
Monday, September 26, 2011 - 09:00
in Astronomy & Space
(PhysOrg.com) -- Fomalhaut b, thought to be the first exoplanet photographed directly, has come under increased scrutiny due to evidence of an unexpected divergence from its expected orbit. Paul Kalas, James Graham and their colleagues identified the planet in 2008 while studying photographs taken by the Hubble telescope in 2004 and 2006. At that time it appeared Fomalhaut b orbited just inside a dust cloud that circles around Fomalhaut, the star at the center of that solar system. Now however, new photographs of Fomalhaut b show that it actually crosses into the dust cloud, causing Toronto astronomer Ray Jayawardhana, at a recent exoplanet conference, to suggest that Fomalhaut b may not be an exoplanet after all.