The spectacular dance of an alien planetary system captured in a unique video, which condenses 12 years of observations in just 4.5 seconds: the system, 133 light years away from us, was the first, in 2008, to be observed directly by astronomers and is composed of a central star (HR8799) slightly larger than the Sun and four planets, all several times more massive than Jupiter.
The incredible video was made by researchers from the American Northwestern University, using data collected by the Keck Observatory, consisting of two twin telescopes and located on the summit of the Mauna Kea volcano in the Hawaiian Islands.
4 points of light, corresponding to the 4 planets, which orbit around the central star, covered by a black disk to obscure its brightness (source: Jason Wang/Northwestern University)
The counter of exoplanets discovered outside the Solar System has currently exceeded 5,200, but most of these have never been directly observed: the reason is that exoplanets are extremely difficult to see, as they are very small and very dim in compared to their star.
The researchers led by Jason Wang, however, were lucky and were able to collect the many years of observations in an accelerated video that even shows the planets moving along their orbits.
The closest to the star is HR8799e, a storm-ravaged gas giant that orbits its star every 45 years.
The second, HR8799d, is even larger and completes one full orbit in 100 years.
Then you meet HR8799c,
whose atmosphere revealed the presence of water and which circles the star in 190 years, finally followed by HR8799b, so distant that it completes an orbit in 460 years.
But there are also indications of a fifth brother, which could be hiding closer to the central star, at a distance 4 or 5 times greater than that between the Earth and the Sun.