'Loneliest star' isn't loneliest any more

Exciting news from the astronomical community recently: our old friend, the star Fomalhaut, the "loneliest" of the night sky's bright stars, isn't lonely anymore. Seems it has at least one planet in orbit around it.

With an excess of 300 extrasolar planets (those outside our own Solar System) discovered so far, this would not normally be extraordinary astronomical news. However, Fomalhaut is the first star to have its planet imaged in visible light -- astronomically definitely something to shout about.

Most other extrasolar planets have been deduced from their effects on the host star, such as making it wobble or causing a small decrease in brightness from time to time as it orbits in front of the host star from our line of sight.

Fomalhaut b, as it has been named by the International Astronomical Union, was photographed by the Hubble Space Telescope orbiting on the inner edge of a massive cloud of dust and other rocky debris surrounding the host star.

This debris cloud, in the shape of a broad ring, or torus, caused quite a stir itself several months ago when photographs of it were first published. Seems it bore a striking resemblance to the "Eye of Sauron" as depicted in the Lord of the Rings movies in vogue then. As could be imagined, this caused quite a stir among J.R.R. Tolkien fans.

The newly discovered planet was imaged in 2004; only upon re-imaging in 2006 was its motion noticed.

Fomalhaut b orbits at an estimated 10 billion miles from its sun, or 25 times farther from its star than Jupiter is from the sun.

To be imaged at that distance it must be an extra ordinarily bright object, at least for a planet.

Fomalhaut is in the constellation Piscis Austrinus, the Southern Fish, and is usually the only star seen in that part of the sky hence the name the "loneliest star." Lying about 25 light-years from Earth, Fomalhaut is currently just above the southwestern horizon about a half-hour after sunset. It can currently be located by looking south of the bright planet Venus.

The star will be about eight degrees, a little more than the width of your clenched fist held at arm's length, above the horizon.

SKY WATCH: New moon on Monday, Jan. 26. Tonight and Friday night, use Venus to find another planet. Venus will be about one degree (about two full moon widths) to the right of blue-green Uranus.

That will place them both in the same binocular field of view. Look for a thin crescent moon between Venus and Uranus on the evening of Jan. 29. Tiny, dim, Uranus will be about four degrees below the moon and Venus will be about six degrees above and slightly to the left.