The European Space Agency (ESA) is Europe’s gateway to space. Its mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.
Find out more about space activities in our 23 Member States, and understand how ESA works together with their national agencies, institutions and organisations.
Exploring our Solar System and unlocking the secrets of the Universe
Go to topicProtecting life and infrastructure on Earth and in orbit
Go to topicUsing space to benefit citizens and meet future challenges on Earth
Go to topicMaking space accessible and developing the technologies for the future
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An artist impression of exoplanet LTT9779b orbiting its host star. The planet is around the size of Neptune and reflects 80% of the light shone on it, making it the largest known “mirror” in the Universe. This shininess was discovered by detailed measurements made by ESA’s Cheops of the amount of light coming from the planet-star system. Because the planet reflects starlight back to us, the amount of light reaching Cheops’ instruments slightly decreased when the planet moved out of view behind its star. This small decrease could be measured thanks to the high precision of the detectors.
[ALT text: This is an artist impression of exoplanet LTT9779b orbiting its host star. The host star is located on the left as a large white circle with rays coming out of it in orange. The exoplanet is smaller and shown on the right of the image. The side of the exoplanet that is facing its host star is illuminated. The planet is around the size of Neptune and reflects 80% of the light shone on it, making it the largest known “mirror” in the Universe. The background of the image is black and speckled across the image is a starfield, showing innumerable stars of many sizes.]