* Astronomy

Breakthrough for Planet Hunters

Astronomers from Leiden University in the Netherlands and the University of Arizona have successfully commissioned a new type of optic that can reveal the image of an exoplanet next to its parent star. The "vector Apodizing Phase Plate," or vector-APP, coronagraph was installed at the 6.5-m Magellan Clay telescope in Chile in May, and the first observations demonstrated an unprecedented contrast performance very close to the star, where planets are more likely to reside.
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