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In the search for orbital bodies around stellar bodies from regions far beyond the confines of our 'system', the inference of the presence of such 'extrasolar' planets has been made through the 'wobbling' motion of their stellar companions. For the first time however, astronomers have witnessed a distant orbiting body pass directly in front of its stellar companion. Designated HD 209458 and some 150 light years away, it was discovered…by using the planet's shadow to detect and measure its size. The particular body was determined to have a mass two thirds that of the planet Jupiter, and have about sixty percent of its radius. Another planet had been discovered orbiting the star Tau Boötes some 50 light years distant by a British team in late 1999. This one was estimated to have eight times the mass, and nearly twice the diameter of Jupiter. It was determined to be of a bluish-green color. Further research ongoing may one day help determine the exact composition of such bodies, and even find ones capable of sustaining life.