Astronomers may have found the first planet in another galaxy

By Leah Crane

The spiral galaxy M51, also known as the Whirlpool galaxy, may be home to the first exoplanet seen outside our galaxy

NASA, ESA, S. Beckwith (STScI) and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)

In a galaxy far, far away, a huge planet may be orbiting a binary star system. If this planet is real, it would be the most distant world we’ve ever spotted – the first planet to be found in another galaxy.

A team of researchers led by Rosanne Di Stefano at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in the Massachusetts spotted this potential planet, which is called M51-ULS-1b. It …