Zooming in on the HD 131399 triple-star system

This sequence takes the viewer deep into the constellation of Centaurus in the southern skies. We settle on the unremarkable-looking star called HD 131399, which is a triple star whose brightest component is orbited by a unique exoplanet called HD 131399Ab.

Located about 320 light-years from Earth, HD 131399Ab is about 16 million years old, making it also one of the youngest exoplanets discovered to date, and one of very few directly-imaged planets. With a temperature of around 580 degrees Celsius and having an estimated mass of four Jupiter masses, it is also one of the coldest and least massive directly imaged exoplanets. It cannot be seen in this picture as it is much too close to the star.

Edit (19 April 2022): Observations conducted over the past few years have revealed that the object identified as HD 131399Ab is not a planet, but rather a background star.