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First Image of Extrasolar Planet Confirmed

Posted by timothy on from the congratulations-it's-a-planet dept.

An anonymous reader writes "The year-long controversy about whether the European Southern Observatory had indeed captured the first picture of an extrasolar planet has apparently been resolved. Journal publication today of a fuzzy image of this Jupiter-sized, extrasolar planet led Christophe Dumas, a member of the discovery team, to say enthusiastically: 'The thrill of seeing this faint source of light in real-time on the instrument display was unbelievable. Although it is surely much bigger than a terrestrial-size object, it is a strange feeling that it may indeed be the first planetary system beyond our own ever imaged.'"

3 of 118 comments (clear)

  1. Re:What's interesting about this... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    "That, and it's orbiting a brown dwarf."

    Excuse me, but the politically correct term is Ethnic Little Person. Mmkay?

  2. Can't believe this hasn't been said yet. by isny · · Score: 4, Funny

    That's not a planet...
    It's a space station

  3. No funny making by BigBuckHunter · · Score: 4, Funny

    Holy Crap!

    A planet discovered by a scientist named "Dumass" and not a single +5 funny yet?

    BBH