Fact Sheet
A Sun-Like Star
This artist's conception shows a giant planet orbiting HD 209458, a Sun-like star 50 light-years from Earth. Using Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers discovered sodium in the planet's atmosphere -- the first measurement of the composition of any planet outside our own solar system. The planet orbits just four million miles from the star -- less than five percent of the distance from Earth to the Sun. [Credit: STScI]
|