Astronomers have confirmed that an object in an image from 2008 -- thought at the time to possibly be a direct image of a planet orbiting another star -- is in fact a planet. I'll explain in a sec, but I want people to understand that this discovery is being touted as the first direct image of a planet around another star. It isn't. Nor is it the first direct image of a planet orbiting a sun-like star. What this is is the first direct image of a planet orbiting a sun-like star taken using a ground-based telescope. While that may sound overly picky, it's actually a significant achievement, and worth noting. First, the planet picture:
This image, taken in 2008 by the Gemini North telescope in Hawaii, shows the star 1RXS J160929.1-210524 (I'll call it 1RXS 1609) in the center, and the planet (1RXS 1609b) indicated by the red ...
