2024-06-20 ESA release: Scientists spot hidden companions of bright stars

Photographing faint objects close to bright stars is incredibly difficult. Yet, by combining data from ESA's Gaia space telescope with ESO’s GRAVITY instrument on the ground, scientists managed just that. They took the first pictures of so far unseen dim companions of eight luminous stars. The technique unlocks the tantalising possibility to capture images of planets orbiting close to their host stars. ESA released a story today on this topic: https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Gaia/Scientists_spot_hidden_companions_of_bright_stars.

Credits: ESA - CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO