News
Sculpting Solar Systems
15 November 2016
Sharp new observations have revealed striking features in planet-forming discs around young stars. The SPHERE instrument, mounted on ESO’s Very Large Telescope, has made it possible to observe the complex dynamics of young solar (...)
A surprising planet with three suns
15 November 2016
A team of astronomers have used the SPHERE instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope to image the first planet ever found in a wide orbit inside a triple-star system.
Boulevard of Broken Rings
22 June 2016
This Picture of the Week illustrates the remarkable capabilities of SPHERE to detect a series of broken rings of dust around a nearby star.
Photo gallery
Project
The SPHERE instrument will explore the close environment of nearby stars in search for other planetary systems. VLT second generation instrument, this high contrast spectro-polarimeter will allow the detection and characterization of exoplanets in outer regions of planetary systems by direct imaging, in a manner complementary to other techniques, including radial velocitiy and photometric transits.