Astronomers had found a miniature version of our own solar system 5,000 light-years across the galaxy — the first planetary system that really looks like our own, with outer giant planets and room for smaller inner planets.

The new discovery was made by a technique called microlensing: the gravity of the nearer star can bend and magnify the light from the more distant one, causing it to get much brighter for a few days. If the alignment is perfect, any big planets attending the nearer star will get into the act, adding their own little boosts to the more distant starlight.