HISTORIC! Astronomers detect first planet outside Milky Way Galaxy

In a historic discovery, astronomers have detected the first planet outside the Milky Way Galaxy.The development is historic becuase it is the first time that the astronomers have succeeded in detecting the signs of a planet transiting a star beyond the Milky Way. Nasa’s Chandra X-ray Observatory deserves the credit for this unique discovery.

"We are trying to open up a whole new arena for finding other worlds by searching for planet candidates at X-ray wavelengths, a strategy that makes it possible to discover them in other galaxies,” said Rosanne Di Stefano of the Center for Astrophysics, who led the study.

During the study, the astronomers focused on searching for dips in the brightness of X-rays received from X-ray bright binary systems that typically contain a neutron star or black hole.

In an apparent effort to locate exoplanets, astronomers focused on studying the light emerging from the star. It is to be noted that whenever a planet passes through it, it produces a characteristic dip by blocking the light from the star.

Astronomers also studied X-rays to detect the newest candidate. The region producing bright X-rays is not very large and that's why a planet passing in front of it could block most or all of the X-rays.

“Unfortunately, to confirm that we’re seeing a planet we would likely have to wait decades to see another transit. And because of the uncertainties about how long it takes to orbit, we wouldn't know exactly when to look," co-author Nia Imara of the University of California said in a statement.