noaoann06002 — Announcement

ET Discovers Young Star with Planetary Companion

11 January 2006

A team led by a University of Florida astronomer has discovered a planet orbiting a star about 100 light-years from Earth. The star is just 600 million years old, one of the youngest stars ever found with a planetary companion. The discovery was made at Kitt Peak National Observatory with a new interferometric instrument called the Exoplanet Tracker (ET) that promises to greatly expand the efficiency of searches for new exoplanets.