Its companion Fomalhaut b was thought to be the first extrasolar planet ever detected by a visible light image , thanks to the Hubble Space Telescope .
Infrared observations have since retracted this claim : it is instead a spherical cloud of dust .
Its companion Fomalhaut b was thought to be the first extrasolar planet ever detected by a visible light image , thanks to the Hubble Space Telescope , but infrared observations have since retracted this claim : it is instead a spherical cloud of dust .