ALT A direct image of an exoplanet shows a small, bright orange dot at the bottom left of the very dark frame. At the center is a much larger white circle with a plus sign marking the mask of the star.

ALT This composite image represents the close environment of Beta Pictoris as seen in near infrared light. The outer part of the image shows the reflected light on the dust disc, as observed in 1996 with the ADONIS instrument on ESO's 3.6 m telescope; the inner part is the innermost part of the system, as seen at 3.6 microns with NACO on the Very Large Telescope. There is a blue circle at the center of the image, with the exoplanet revealed as a dot of blue light. Yellow and red spear-like protrusions appear at the sides of the blue circle. This is the disk of dust and gas that envelopes the planet. Because the planet is still very young, it is still very hot, with a temperature around 1200 degrees Celsius. Both parts of the image were obtained on ESO telescopes equipped with adaptive optics.

ALT This annotated composite image represents the close environment of Beta Pictoris as seen in near infrared light. The outer part of the image shows the reflected light on the dust disk. There is a blue circle at the center of the image, with the exoplanet revealed as a dot of blue light. Yellow and red spear-like protrusions appear at the sides of the blue circle. This is the disk of dust and gas that envelopes the planet. In the upper right there is a nearby circle showing Saturn's orbit. The planet Beta Pic b is also labeled at the center along with the star. The fiery looking debris disk is also labeled, along with north, pointing up.

ALT This composite image represents the close environment of Beta Pictoris as seen in near infrared light. The outer part of the image shows the reflected light on the dust disc, as observed in 1996 with the ADONIS instrument on ESO's 3.6 m telescope; the inner part is the innermost part of the system, as seen at 3.6 microns with NACO on the Very Large Telescope. There is a blue circle at the center of the image, with the exoplanet revealed as a dot of blue light. Yellow and red spear-like protrusions appear at the sides of the blue circle. This is the disk of dust and gas that envelopes the planet. Because the planet is still very young, it is still very hot, with a temperature around 1200 degrees Celsius. Both parts of the image were obtained on ESO telescopes equipped with adaptive optics.

ALT This annotated composite image represents the close environment of Beta Pictoris as seen in near infrared light. The outer part of the image shows the reflected light on the dust disk. There is a blue circle at the center of the image, with the exoplanet revealed as a dot of blue light. Yellow and red spear-like protrusions appear at the sides of the blue circle. This is the disk of dust and gas that envelopes the planet. In the upper right there is a nearby circle showing Saturn's orbit. The planet Beta Pic b is also labeled at the center along with the star. The fiery looking debris disk is also labeled, along with north, pointing up.