The James Webb Space Telescope, operated by NASA, has taken the first direct picture of a planet outside of our solar system.
The exoplanet, known as HIP 65426 b, was seen by NASA through four different light filters on Thursday. According to NASA, Sasha Hinkley, an associate professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom, remarked that this is a transformative moment, not only for Webb but also for astronomy generally. How successfully the Webb coronagraphs suppressed the host star’s light was “very astounding.” According to NASA, Hinkley oversaw an international team that included representatives from the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency in their observations of HIP 65426 b.
Talk about out of this world! This is Webb’s first direct image of a planet outside of our solar system, and it hints at Webb’s future possibilities for studying distant worlds: https://t.co/ITcl6RItLa
Not what you expected? Let’s walk through the details👇 pic.twitter.com/bCgzW0dcUE
— NASA Webb Telescope (@NASAWebb) September 1, 2022
The exoplanet’s mass varies between six and twelve times that of Jupiter and it is located 355 light-years from Earth. For a planet, its age, which is just between 15 and 20 million years old, is youthful. The Earth is 4.5 billion years old, according to NASA. According to NASA, the exoplanet is a gas giant without a rocky surface, making it inhospitable. Even though HIP 65426 b was discovered for the first time in 2017, the Webb Telescope was able to capture the object’s finest images to date.
According to NASA, it is challenging to take direct pictures of exoplanets due to the brightness of the stars they circle. HIP 65426 b is approximately 100 times further from its host star than Earth is from the Sun, according to NASA, which allowed Webb to photograph the planet separately from the star. Aarynn Carter, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Santa Cruz, who oversaw the photos’ analysis, said getting this image ‘was like mining for cosmic gold.’ With careful image processing, I was able to exclude the star’s light and reveal the planet. At first, all I could see was light from the star, the author writes.
To investigate the universe’s beginnings, the Webb Telescope, the most expensive science mission ever built, was launched earlier this year. To continue reconstructing the timeline of our cosmos, scientists are eager to combine Webb’s results with earlier discoveries. Webb has already returned the most precise photos of space ever seen. Carter continued I think what’s most thrilling is that we’ve just begun. There will be a ton more photos of exoplanets that will influence how we see their physics, chemistry, and formation in general. We might even find worlds that weren’t known to exist.
Netizens took to Twitter to express their amazement. Twitter user @dadbloop666 tweeted that everything will change with James Webb. Our space and outer space have undergone a revolution. 5 000 exoplanets have already been found.
James Webb will change everything. Its revolutionary our space and outer space. 5000 exoplanets already discovered https://t.co/TEPJGOZp1h
— Ankr Mania (@dadbloop666) September 3, 2022
Another twitter user @Illouminant tweeted wow, Webb is truly amazing; I didn’t anticipate seeing actual images of this.
Holy goodness, Webb is insanely incredible, I didn't expect physical photos of these 🥺 https://t.co/PjxGl0kiNG
— ℓσυ (@Illouminant) September 3, 2022
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