In mid-2009, it was officially named Madola by the International Astronomical Union, in honor of Christian Marois (b. 1974), René Doyon (b. 1963) and David Lafrenière (b. 1978), who developed instruments and techniques that allowed the first direct photograph of an extrasolar planetary system, consisting of three planets orbiting the star HR 8799 in Pegasus.
For example, Gemini astronomers, along with their collaborators at the 10m W. M. Keck Observatory, recently announced the first images of an extra solar system with three detected planets circling their parent star, an A-type star known as HR 8799.
HR 8799 |