... ESO, the European Southern Observatory . ... For the first time a clever new technique has allowed astronomers to study the atmosphere of an exoplanet in detail тАФ even though it does not pass in front of its parent star. An international team has used ESOтАЩs Very Large Telescope to directly catch the faint glow from the planet Tau Bo†ґtis b. They have studied the planetтАЩs atmosphere and measured its orbit and mass precisely for the first time тАФ in the process solving a 15-year old problem. ...