6 October 1995
Waxing Gibbous, 94% lit
The first planet around another sun
51 Pegasi b was announced under a 96% moon, the first planet ever found orbiting a normal star other than ours.
It was a Jupiter-sized world orbiting closer than Mercury, which theory said was impossible, so it was disbelieved for months. There are now over 5,000 confirmed exoplanets and the discovery won a Nobel Prize.
- Date
- 6 October 1995
- Moon computed for
- 12:00 local time, UTC+1The time of day is not recorded here, so noon stands in.
- Phase
- Waxing Gibbous
- Illuminated
- 94%
Source: Mayor & Queloz, Nature (1995)