Big Planet, Wide Orbit, Unsolved Mystery: b Centauri(AB)b

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J.L. Dauvergne/G. Hüdepohl/ESO's photo of Paranal Observatory's four VLTs and ATs, and the VST (foreground); VISTA (background) (2009) from ESO, via Wikimedia Commons, used w/o permission.Scientists in Sweden, taking part in 2019's BEAST program that used SPHERE on the VLT discovered an 'it might be an exoplanet.'

In 2021, they got confirmation. They'd spotted an exoplanet.

And SPHERE on the VLT1 has an picture of the newly-discovered world.

I'd planned on talking about BEAST, SPHERE, VLT; comparing ground-based and space observatories; and whatever else came to mind. Then, on Tuesday, I started running a fever. It was of the 'nothing serious' variety, but quite enough to slow me down.

After that, the household got a brief visit from number-two daughter, son-in law and granddaughter: a happy occasion. Which also didn't help me do what I'd planned.

So I trimmed my plans back to what was possible, and this is the result.

b Centauri(AB)b, AKA HD 129116 b: Big Bright Stars and a Big Mystery Planet

ESO/Janson et al.'s image of b Centauri (AB) and the binary star's exoplanet.
(From ESO, used w/o permission.)
(Binary star HD 129116 and HD 129116 b, its huge exoplanet.)...

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