--- description: A new instrument built to view exoplanets has captured its first images, including this dust ring around a nearby star. title: SPHERE's First Image Looks Like The Eye Of Sauron image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf176b8c406949f7e/6986968a361760294e90c80b/sphere-eso-eye-of-sauron.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Science](/section/science/) ## Science Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Space](/tag/space/) ## Space Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # SPHERE's First Image Looks Like The Eye Of Sauron by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 6, 2014 3:53 PM CUT  This infrared image shows the dust ring around the nearby star HR 4796A in the southern constellation of Centaurus and was one of the first produced by the SPHERE instrument in May 2014. This infrared image shows the dust ring around the nearby star HR 4796A in the southern constellation of Centaurus and was one of the first produced by the SPHERE instrument in May 2014.J-L Beuzit et al.—SPHERE / ESO by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 6, 2014 3:53 PM CUT A new instrument built to view exoplanets—planets outside our solar system—has captured its first images, including this dust ring around a nearby star. [SPHERE](http://www.eso.org/public/news/eso1417/ "undefined"), as the instrument is called, has been installed at the Paranal Observatory in Chile. That places it squarely on Earth, but it seems to have offered a frightening peek into Middle-earth. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/2838424/sphere-exoplanets-first-image/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/2838424/sphere-exoplanets-first-image/"},"headline":"SPHERE's First Image Looks Like The Eye Of Sauron","datePublished":"2014-06-06T15:53:50.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T08:16:03.976Z","description":"A new instrument built to view exoplanets has captured its first images, including this dust ring around a nearby star.","url":"https://time.com/2838424/sphere-exoplanets-first-image/","keywords":["Space","astronomy","exoplanets"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf176b8c406949f7e/6986968a361760294e90c80b/sphere-eso-eye-of-sauron.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf176b8c406949f7e/6986968a361760294e90c80b/sphere-eso-eye-of-sauron.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"This infrared image shows the dust ring around the nearby star HR 4796A in the southern constellation of Centaurus and was one of the first produced by the SPHERE instrument in May 2014.","caption":"This infrared image shows the dust ring around the nearby star HR 4796A in the southern constellation of Centaurus and was one of the first produced by the SPHERE instrument in May 2014.","creditText":"J-L Beuzit et al.—SPHERE / ESO","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/space/","name":"Space"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/2838424/sphere-exoplanets-first-image/","name":"SPHERE's First Image Looks Like The Eye Of Sauron"}}]}] ```