Direct Imaging of Exoplanet Using Star-Mapping Data Revolutionizes Search for Life Beyond Earth

Astronomers have used a combination of star-mapping data and direct imaging to discover a gas giant exoplanet, HIP 99770B, orbiting a star twice as massive as our sun. The discovery was made using the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan's Subaru Telescope on Mauna Kea, Hawaii. Direct imaging provides information such as the composition of atmospheres around planets and their temperatures, and this approach could bring further discoveries of exoplanets by direct imaging, potentially including Earth-like planets.