(CNN) — Astronomers captured the first direct image of an exoplanet with the James Webb Space Telescope.
The exoplanet, a planet outside our solar system, it is a gas giant with a mass between six and twelve times that of Jupiter. The planet, called HIP 65426 b, is between 15 and 20 million years old, making it a baby planet compared to Earth, which is 4.5 billion years old and regarding 385 light-years from Earth. .
The planet can be seen in four different bands of infrared light taken by Webb’s various instruments. The Webb Telescope views the universe in infrared light, which is invisible to the human eye, making it the perfect space observatory for revealing details regarding distant worlds.
The first direct Webb telescope image of an exoplanet shows it in different bands of infrared light. The planet, named HIP 65426 b, is a gas giant.
“This is a transformative moment, not just for Webb, but for astronomy in general,” Sasha Hinkley, associate professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Exeter, UK, said in a statement.
Hinkley led the observations as part of an international collaboration.
The exoplanet was first discovered in 2017 using the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope and its SPHERE instrument, located in Chile. The instrument then imaged the planet through short infrared wavelengths, but Webb’s ability to see longer infrared wavelengths may shed light on new details.
Scientists are analyzing the HIP 65426 b data obtained by Webb and an upcoming study will be submitted to journals for review.
The exoplanet is regarding 100 times farther from its host star than Earth is from the Sun, which allowed Webb and his instruments to separate the planet from its star. Some of Webb’s instruments are equipped with coronagraphs, or masks that can block out starlight, allowing the telescope to take direct images of exoplanets.
Stars are much brighter than planets, and in this case, HIP 65426 b is more than 10,000 times fainter than its host star in near-infrared light.
“Getting this image felt like digging for space treasure,” said Aarynn Carter, leader of the image analysis and a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Santa Cruz, in a statement. “At first all I might see was the light from the star, but with careful image processing I was able to remove that light and discover the planet.”
While the Hubble Space Telescope was the first to directly image exoplanets, Webb’s exploration of exoplanets in the infrared is just beginning. The telescope has already shared the first spectrum of an exoplanet by detecting a signature of water in its atmosphere and found the first clear evidence of carbon dioxide in an exoplanet’s atmosphere.
And the space observatory began conducting science observations this summer.
“I think the most exciting thing is that we just started,” Carter said. “There are many more images of exoplanets to come that will shape our overall understanding of their physics, chemistry, and formation. We may even discover hitherto unknown planets.”
