Astronomers unveil images of a rare exoplanet, similar to Tatooine, orbiting two stars

Star Wars has fascinated millions of people around the world, thanks in part to its unique environments. And recently, astronomers have unveiled images of an exoplanet similar to Tatooine, which formed only 50 million years after the extinction of the dinosaurs.

This is a very young exoplanet that was discovered by astronomers in 2025. Named HD 143811 AB b, it is located about 446 light-years from Earth and orbits a double star every 320 years. In other words, if it were possible to visit this planet, its environment would be similar to that of Tatooine in Star Wars. And these images are exceptional, according to Jason Wang of Northwestern University: 

"Of the 6,000 exoplanets that we know of, only a very small fraction of them orbit binaries. Of those, we only have a direct image of a handful of them, meaning we can have an image of the binary and the planet itself. Imaging both the planet and the binary is interesting because it’s the only type of planetary system where we can trace both the orbit of the binary star and the planet in the sky at the same time.” 

However, if these images are recent, the observation of this system goes back several years. Indeed, astronomers discovered this exoplanet in the archives of the Gemini South telescope and its GPI (Gemini Planet Imager) instrument. This device worked from 2014 to 2022 before being removed to be improved. And the next version could help scientists to better understand this system, but also to make new observations of this unique exoplanet.