Researchers measure the spin rates of bodies thought to be either planets or tiny 'failed' stars

Taking a picture of an exoplanet--a planet in a solar system beyond our sun--is no easy task. The light of a planet's parent star far outshines the light from the planet itself, making the planet difficult to see. While taking a picture of a small rocky planet like Earth is still not feasible, researchers have made strides by snapping images of about 20 giant planet-like bodies. These objects, known as planetary-mass companions, are more massive than Jupiter, orbit far from the glare of their st...