Discovery Alert! 💃🏾 Six planets are locked in a rhythmic dance around their star that's so precise, you can set the orbits to music. The planets likely have been performing this dance since formation billions of years ago. go.nasa.gov/3RmSpwv

@Christiaan__H That is so kind because we really try. Thank you! This was made by Dr. Hugh Osborn, University of Bern, one of the system's discoverers.

A faraway star hosts a truly strange (maybe talented?) family of exoplanets: six “sub-Neptunes” – possibly smaller versions of our own Neptune – moving in a cyclic rhythm. This orbital waltz repeats so precisely that it can be set to music. Volume up! 🔊 go.nasa.gov/3RmSpwv

There are thought to be billions of exoplanets in the Milky Way and we've confirmed 5,500+ (so far). It's a big galaxy, so how do we find relatively tiny planets? exoplanets.nasa.gov/alien-worlds/w…

This colorful composite shows our Milky Way galaxy’s central zone. These vast clouds contain enough gas and dust to form tens of millions of stars like the Sun. Microwave, infrared and radio data were used to view features we'd otherwise be unable to see. nasa.gov/universe/nasas…

@medennis3467 @ESO Yes! Here is a link to @ESO's announcement: eso.org/public/news/es…

@ArkhamFantasy For the large ground telescopes, you can use advanced optics with masks. You can't update space telescopes like that, but there are proposals to use large, unfolding coronagraphs in space.

In another milestone, @NASAWebb detects methane and water vapor in the atmosphere of an exoplanet 163 light-years away. Seeing the planet separately from its star at that distance would be like trying to see a strand of hair from 9 miles (15 km) away! go.nasa.gov/46mOvYx

Methane is abundant on gas giants in our solar system, so detecting it on a world 163 light-years away allows us to make apples to apples comparisons. And by measuring methane and water, we can infer the ratio of carbon atoms to oxygen atoms. go.nasa.gov/46mOvYx

More than 175,000 participants from 167+ countries (part of the Backyard Worlds citizen science tea) reached an incredible milestone: 10 million classifications in the search for objects abound nearby stars. go.nasa.gov/49XSa1W

An Earth-sized exoplanet can be 10 billion times fainter than its parent star. Directly imaging exoplanets, or taking their picture, is so hard that it can take new technology. Imaging technology requires precision to within the size of a Hydrogen atom! go.nasa.gov/3Ril2eh

You can discover worlds with us. Catch up on @NASA’s Curious Universe podcast, and learn how you can make discoveries with NASA from home! nasa.gov/curiousuniverse

Methane is abundant on gas giants in our solar system, so detecting it on a world 163 light-years away allows us to make apples to apples comparisons. And by measuring methane and water, we can infer the ratio of carbon atoms to oxygen atoms. go.nasa.gov/46mOvYx

An Earth-sized exoplanet can be 10 billion times fainter than its parent star. Directly imaging exoplanets, or taking their picture, is so hard that it can take new technology. Imaging technology requires precision to within the size of a Hydrogen atom! go.nasa.gov/3Ril2eh

You just might want to get sucked in to this #BlackHoleFriday deal. Free downloads of our black hole poster, in English and Spanish! Of course there's a heaping helping of science thrown in. go.nasa.gov/3GfEIZS

What does every holiday meal need? More pie! So, we’re bringing our favorite, a *pie chart*! It shows the breakdown of exoplanet types discovered so far. Plus, no one wants us to bring a gas giant…

On this day, and on all days, we're thankful for YOU. For following our exploration and joining in delight at each discovery. We're also thankful for @NASAHubble, which captured part of Westerhout 5, a seemingly pumpkin spice nebula 7,000 light-years away. go.nasa.gov/3RBeibX

🍂 This Friendsgiving, you’re all invited to our universal table. Here’s what some of our missions are bringing to the potluck. Take in the spread, then tell us what you’ll be putting on your plate!

@YuriyKuzin @ESO That's the infrared view!

@NASARoman We can't wait until you're bringing in the exoplanets!

Elusive molecule measured🔎 Scientists used @NASAWebb to detect methane, along with water vapor, in the atmosphere of exoplanet WASP-80 b. Now we can start exploring what this chemical composition tells us about the planet’s birth, growth, and evolution. go.nasa.gov/46mOvYx

@YuriyKuzin @ESO That's the disk of gas and dust that envelopes the system.

@dka78 @NASA An excellent question! If we don't have mass information then sometimes we can't tell and have to look closer.

@dka78 @NASA That's what we're here for!

What does every Friendsgiving potluck need? More pie! So, we’re bringing our favorite, a *pie chart*! It shows the breakdown of exoplanet types discovered so far. Plus, no one wants us to bring a gas giant… twitter.com/NASA/status/17…

We all know fresh is best, and this is just like TESS to supply raw ingredients for @NASAWebb! TESS is a pathfinder for Webb, looking for planets to explore further in infrared!

Our TESS space telescope is bringing cranberries to our Friendsgiving potluck. Exactly 402 cranberries to represent each of TESS’ exoplanet discoveries! (We'd have to bring another 6,977 berries to represent planet candidates from TESS!)🔴 twitter.com/NASA/status/17…

@LHouse2772 @NASAWebb @ESO For this, you gotta go Very Large.

@Joseaherj @NASAWebb @ESO It is a mask to pull out the planet from the disk. You'll notice the star is masked too, with adaptive telescope optics.

#OTD in 2008 we released the first direct image of exoplanet #BetaPictoris b, taken with the now retired NACO instrument at #VLT: eso.org/public/news/es… Many more "firsts" enabled by direct images of Beta Pictoris b followed, see below! 👇 📷 ESO/A.-M. Lagrange et al.