Astronomers Spot Distant Star Being Eclipsed By Huge, Saturn-Like Rings

By : Geo Beats

Published On: 2015-01-28

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The distant star J1407b has captured the attention of a team of astronomers, as it’s shown evidence of being in the proximity of something with seriously large rings.

The distant star J1407 has captured the attention of a team of astronomers, as its shown evidence of being in the proximity of something with seriously large rings.

This is the first time such a system has been observed outside of our own galaxy.

They’re calling the celestial feature a ‘super Saturn,’ though they have yet to catch a glimpse of the “unseen secondary companion” they are calling J1407b at the center.

Theories and calculations thus far have been made by watching and documenting as the rings eclipsed J1407’s light.

First glimpses of the activity occurred in 2012 and the study of it has been going on since.

The researchers from Leiden Observatory in the Netherlands and the University of Rochester in New York believe there are more than 30 bands, each with a diameter of 10s of millions of kilometers.