Around a Star Far, Far Away

A picture, even one as fuzzy as this, is still worth a thousand inferences. Today's proof: a shot from the Hubble Space Telescope that NASA says is the first photograph of a planet outside our solar system. Until now, the existence of extrasolar planets had only been inferred by indirect means such as gravitational wobbles. Even though it's just a speck in the lower left-hand corner of this photo, the planet is two to three times the size of Jupiter, and is orbiting a binary star system in the constellation Taurus about 450 light-years from Earth.
Most Popular »
- How Cash Keeps Poor People Poor
- E.T. Turns 30: 10 Things You Didn't Know About Our Favorite Extraterrestrial
- 15-Year-Old Creates Test for Pancreatic Cancer
- Fourth Flesh-Eating-Bacteria Case Confirmed in Georgia, Possible Fifth
- Nevada Ghosts: Rare Photos From an A-Bomb Test
- Euro Crisis: Why A Greek Exit Could Be Much Worse Than Expected
- A New First Amendment Right: Videotaping The Police
- 10 Dangerous Products You Might Have in Your Home
- Could a Fertility Gene Discovery Lead to New Male Contraception?
- Star Wars Turns 35: How TIME Covered the Film Phenomenon
- Researchers Probe the Potential Health Benefits of Palm Oil
- A Visit with Turkey's Controversial Religious Movement
- Feeding the Planet Without Destroying It
- Bubble on the Potomac
- Falcon's Liftoff: How a Private Firm Could Change Space Exploration
- The Fatal Flight of the Superjet 100: Why Did It Slam Into a Mountain?
- Learning That Works
- The Man Who Remade Motherhood
- Bibi's Choice
- Seoul: 10 Things to Do




