James Webb Telescope captures its first images of an exoplanet

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3-09-2022, 23:24

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INA - SOURCES

In a first for the James Webb Telescope, astronomers from the joint NASA/ESA/CSA cooperative used the space-based telescope to bring back images of an exoplanet.

Exoplanets are planets orbiting other suns than our own, helping us to understand if we are unique in the universe or if other Earth-like planets exist.

The images of the exoplanet are seen through four different light filters. They show a gas giant, a planet with no rocky surface that could not be habitable. The light filters show how the infrared telescope's gaze is easily capturing images of planets out beyond our solar system. These images lead the way toward future observations that can reveal a broad range of information never before seen on exoplanets.

Named HIP 65426 b is a gas giant about six to eight times the size of Jupiter, which is an enormous planet indeed.

It is only about 15 to 20 million years old, which in planet years is very young. Our own Earth is about four to five billion years old.