SCHEMATIC OF FOMALHAUT SYSTEM

This diagram shows the orbit of the exoplanet Fomalhaut b as calculated from recent Hubble Space Telescope observations. The planet follows a highly elliptical orbit that carries it across a wide belt of debris encircling the bright star Fomalhaut. The planet swings as close to its star as 7.4 billion kilometres, and the outermost point of its orbit is 43 billion kilometres away from the star. The orbital period is approximately 2000 years.

Credit:
NASA/ESA and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)