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Four distant planets 'dance' around their sun in 12-year timelapse

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Watch: Four distant planets ‘dance’ around their sun in 12-year timelapse

New footage shows a 12-year time lapse of four distant planets, each larger than Jupiter, orbiting their star.

Northwestern University astrophysicist Jason Wang has documented HR8799 - the first extrasolar planetary system ever directly imaged.

Seeing planets orbiting is usually difficult, Wang said.

“It isn’t apparent that Jupiter or Mars orbit our sun because we live in the same system and don’t have a top-down view. Astronomical events either happen too quickly or too slowly to capture in a movie... I hope it enables people to enjoy something wondrous.”

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