GQ Lupi b is an extrasolar planet orbiting the star GQ Lupi.

It is thought to be the first extrasolar planet to be directly imaged. The image was made with the VLT telescope at Paranal Observatory, Chile in April 2005.

One reason why it was possible to image the planet is because of its great distance from its primary star, about 20 times the distance of Jupiter from our Sun (about 100 AU). The mass is not known, but is believed to be about 2.4 Jupiter masses, though it could possibly range from 1–42 Jupiter masses; the orbital period may be as much as 1200 years.

There remains some lingering skepticism among some astronomers as to whether GQ Lupi b may in fact be a brown dwarf rather than a planet, and whether or not it is in fact orbiting around GQ Lupi. It has, however, been confirmed that it is moving through space with the same proper motion as GQ Lupi.

See also

• 2M1207

External links

• New Scientist: First image of exoplanet orbiting Sun-like star
• The Planetary Society: Striking Image Could Be First Picture Ever of Extrasolar Planet
• BBC News: Telescopes see 'distant planet'