"Planets are the rule rather than the exception, " said lead astronomer Arnaud Cassan at the Institute of Astrophysics in Paris.
"He was not a professionally trained astronomer and yet did professional quality work, particularly when it came to mapping the Moon in the 1950s - I think every astronomer in the world owes something to Patrick Moore, " said ex-BBC science correspondent and fellow astronomer Dr David Whitehouse .
"Previous work has identified potential examples of black holes on their way to merging, but the case presented by Boroson and Lauer is special because the pairing is tighter and the evidence much stronger, " said Jon Miller, an astronomer at the University of Michigan.
Observing the asteroid wasn't easy, said David Tholen, an astronomer at the University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy.
"If we are correct, this is the first time we are seeing a planet forming inside its natal environment, " said Sascha Quanz, an astronomer at the Swiss university ETH Zurich and leader of the team.
Dr Robin Catchpole, senior astronomer at the Royal Observatory Greenwich, said the red coloration was a brilliant effect.
Marek Kukula, Public Astronomer at the Royal Observatory Greenwich, said that beyond that, the planet's very existence makes a tantalising suggestion.
Mike Montgomery, an astronomer at the University of Texas at Austin, said another force may be at work.
"One can point at almost any random star and say there are planets orbiting that star, " said astronomer Uffe Grae Jorgensen, of the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, a member of Dr. Cassan's team.
Professor Alan Fitzsimmons, an astronomer at Queen's University Belfast Astrophysics Research Centre, said the light was probably a "random fireball".
"We are starting to see a whole new type of planetary system, which is unlike anything in our own solar system, " said astronomer William Welsh at San Diego State University, who presented the Kepler findings Wednesday at a meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Austin, Texas.
Yet some of the brightest objects in the universe are black holes that are devouring matter around them, since a lot of energy gets released in that process, said Kevin Schawinski, astronomer at Yale University and co-author of the research.
"We are starting to see a whole new type of planetary system, which is unlike anything in our own solar system, " said William Welsh, an astronomer at San Diego State University, who presented the Kepler findings Wednesday at a meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Austin, Texas.
"It's no exaggeration to say that Patrick, in his tireless and ebullient communication of the magic of astronomy, inspired every British astronomer, amateur and professional, for half a century, " said Queen guitarist Brian May, who holds a PhD in astrophysics.
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