Cool Companions on Ultrawide Orbits

The COol Companions ON Ultrawide orbiTS (COCONUTS) program is a large-scale survey for wide-orbit planetary and substellar companions considered the first survey of this type of celestial bodies.

[1] In 2021, the team announced COCONUTS-2b, the closest exoplanet directly imaged ever.

[2] The program is a dedicated large-scale search for wide-orbit giant planets and brown dwarf companions, targeting a sample of 300,000 stars.

By using multi-wavelength photometry and multi-epoch astrometry, astronomers are able to assess the candidates' companionship and ultracool nature.

[3]