Far away planets

THE first telescope images of dust rings around distant stars reveal powerful new evidence of planets formed beyond the solar system. This was stated by US astronomers at the national meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Austin, USA.

Pictures from the Hubble space telescope of two distant stars show dust rings that may have been gravitationally sculpted by planets, said the astronomers. The stars identified as HR 476a and HD 141569, are both 300 light years from the Earth. The rings around HD 141569 have a dark gap that may have been cut by the gravitational influence of the planet, said Alycia Weinberger of the University of California and a member of the astronomy team that made the discovery.