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A telescope at the European Southern Observatory (ESO) has captured the first image of several planets orbiting a Sun-like star , which could help scientists better understand our solar system, the institute revealed on Wednesday.

The VLT ("Very Large Telescope") at the Germany-based research center has managed to take a picture of two giant exoplanets orbiting a solar-type star known as TYC 8998-760-1, at 300 light years away from our solar system.

Until now, astronomers have captured snapshots of systems of two or more exoplanets, but have never been able to directly observe more than one planet orbiting a star similar to our sun.

"This discovery is a snapshot of an environment that is very similar to our solar system , but at a much earlier stage in its evolution," said research director Alexander Bohn, a doctoral student at Leiden University ( Netherlands), in a statement.

The two exoplanets orbit their host star at distances that are 160 and 320 times greater than the Earth-Sun distance, respectively, and are gas giants , like Jupiter and Saturn, although they are farther away than these from their star and are much heavier. . However, in contrast to the star of our solar system, TYC 8998-760-1 is only 17 million years old , which is why Bohn calls it a "very young version" of our own Sun.

"Although astronomers have indirectly detected thousands of planets in our galaxy, only a small fraction of these exoplanets have been imaged directly," says study co-author Matthew Kenworthy, an associate professor at Leiden University, who added that direct observations are important for finding environments that can harbor life.

The images were taken last year by the VLT from the Atacama Desert in Chile, but only now have astronomers been able to determine, analyzing data that dates back in part to 2017, that the two exoplanets are part of the TYC 8998-760 system. -one.

However, further observations will be necessary for the research team to determine whether the two gas giants formed where they currently are, away from the star, or whether they migrated from other locations instead.

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