The Mysterious Planet That Vanished Without a Trace: Fomalhaut b
What if one of the most famous photographs in exoplanet history captured something that was never a planet at all? 🌌
In 2008, astronomers announced Fomalhaut b as a groundbreaking discovery: a directly imaged planet orbiting the nearby star Fomalhaut, roughly 25 light-years from Earth. The image became a landmark in astronomy, appearing to show another world photographed in visible light.
Then the evidence started changing.
Over the following years, Fomalhaut b became fainter. Its apparent orbit raised new questions. Infrared observations failed to detect the expected heat signature. By 2014…
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