eso
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No, This Isn’t The Eye Of Sauron
Briefly: It’s an amazing image of the ringed star HR 4796A, captured by the new Spectro-Polarimetric High-contrast Exoplanet Research (SPHERE) instrument at the Very Large Telescope atop Cerro Paranal in Chile. The newly installed SPHERE filters out light to acquire exceptionally sharp images like these — unlike any telescope before it. [ESO via New Scientist]
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Astronomers Found A Minor Planet With A Ring System Like Saturn’s
For the first time ever, astronomers have identified a small planet with a ring system. They previously thought that such a phenomenon could only happen on large planets like Saturn and Jupiter. But this special space rock, known as 10199 Chariklo, is a small planet called a Centaur.