In the case of Centauri b, SPHERE was critical in identifying the planet but wasn’t the first instrument to observe it. Astronomers believe it’s the vast distance from the host stars that it orbits that allowed the planet to exist at all.ĭiscovering the planet was possible thanks to the SPHERE (Spectro-Polarimetric High-contrast Exoplanet Research) instrument aboard the ESO VLT in Chile.
It orbits its host stars at a distance 100 times greater than Jupiter orbits the sun making it one of the widest orbits ever discovered. The environment of the planet orbiting the stars would be nothing like the environment here on Earth, as Centauri b exists in an extremely hostile environment with extreme radiation.Ĭentauri b is ten times more massive than Jupiter, making it one of the largest exoplanets ever discovered. The discovery of Centauri b shows that planets can form around B-type stars despite the harsh environment. Janson says that since B-type stars have destructive and dangerous environments around them, it was believed that it would be difficult for large planets to form around them. Despite that belief, the planet orbiting the stars has been confirmed. Massive stars such as this would strongly impact the gas that surrounds them, which scientists believe would work against planetary formation. Since the star produces so much heat, it also emits lots of ultraviolet and x-ray radiation. The main star in a binary system such as we’re seeing here is a B-type star, a star with a surface three times hotter than our Sun. Massive star systems don’t typically have planets because large stars are very hot, causing material around the star to evaporate quickly.
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