Renowned planet hunters Geoffrey Marcy and Paul Butler made the dramatic announcement last week that they had seen a dimming in the light coming from HD 209458 and said it was caused by a planet passing in front of the star.

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But the German light is dimming, too.

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Astronomers detected the new planet as it crossed the face of the distant "sun", dimming the star's light as it passed in front.

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"I was standing outside having a bit of fresh air and as I turned round I saw this very bright blue light which was dimming, " he said.

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It's fantastic that Paramount has chosen to mark the hour by dimming their lights at this unusual light display.

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It also suggests the amount of aerosols that humans emit into the atmosphere could impact tree growth, as high levels of aerosols cause "global dimming", an effect that occurs when the levels of light reaching the Earth's surface fall.

BBC: Earth News - Cosmic pattern to UK tree growth