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Astronomers Confirm Direct Image of Young Planet Orbiting Close Binary, Closest of Its Kind

Reanalysis of Gemini Planet Imager data revealed HD 143811 AB b, creating a rare testbed to watch a planet with its binary hosts move.

Overview

  • The confirmation appears in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, with an independent identification published in Astronomy & Astrophysics.
  • HD 143811 AB b is estimated at about 5.6 Jupiter masses, roughly 13 million years old, near 1,042 K, and on an orbit of about 300 years.
  • Its host stars form a spectroscopic binary with an 18-day stellar period in a system about 446 light-years away in the Sco-Cen association.
  • Researchers found the planet by reanalyzing 2016–2019 Gemini Planet Imager observations and verifying co-motion against background stars.
  • This is the closest directly imaged planet known around a binary, offering a rare chance to map both planetary and stellar orbits as teams plan continued monitoring.