Nasa S James Webb Space Telescope Takes Its First Image Of An Extrasolar Planet Science Tech News

The telescope captured four different views of the planet HIP 65426 b, a gas giant about six to 12 times the mass of Jupiter. “This is a transformative moment, not just for Webb but for astronomy in general,” said Sasha Hinckley, associate professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Exeter. Astronomers discovered HIP 65426 b in 2017 using the Very Large Telescope of the Southern Observatory in Chile. But Webb’s images reveal new details that ground-based telescopes would not be able to detect because of the inherent infrared glow of Earth’s atmosphere. It is a young exoplanet about 15 to 20 million years old – Earth is 4.5 billion years old. Taking direct images of exoplanets is challenging because the stars are much brighter than their surrounding planets—HIP 65426 b is over 10,000 times fainter than its host star in the near-infrared and a few thousand times fainter in the mid-infrared. Webb has a near-infrared camera (NIRCam) and a mid-infrared instrument (MIRI), both of which are equipped with coronagraphs – sets of tiny masks that block starlight. “It was really impressive how well the Webb coronagraphs worked to suppress the light of the host star,” Professor Hinkley said. Image: The telescope captured four different views of the planet, HIP 65426 b. Photo: NASA Since the planet is about 100 times farther from its host star than Earth is from the Sun, the telescope can easily separate it from the star in the image. “Getting this image was like hunting for space treasure,” said Aarynn Carter, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, who led the analysis of the images. “At first all I could see was light from the star, but with careful image processing I was able to remove that light and reveal the planet.” While this is not the first direct image of an exoplanet taken from space, as the Hubble Space Telescope has taken direct images of exoplanets in the past, the image points the way for future observations that will reveal more information about exoplanets. “I think the most exciting thing is that we’re just getting started,” Mr. 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 previously unknown planets.” Last month the telescope revealed stunning details of the Cartwheel galaxy and previously observed a dying star and a ‘cosmic dance’.

title: “Nasa S James Webb Space Telescope Takes Its First Image Of An Extrasolar Planet Science Tech News Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-05” author: “Lawrence Pollard”

The telescope captured four different views of the planet HIP 65426 b, a gas giant about six to 12 times the mass of Jupiter. “This is a transformative moment, not just for Webb but for astronomy in general,” said Sasha Hinckley, associate professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Exeter. Astronomers discovered HIP 65426 b in 2017 using the Very Large Telescope of the Southern Observatory in Chile. But Webb’s images reveal new details that ground-based telescopes would not be able to detect because of the inherent infrared glow of Earth’s atmosphere. It is a young exoplanet about 15 to 20 million years old – Earth is 4.5 billion years old. Taking direct images of exoplanets is challenging because the stars are much brighter than their surrounding planets—HIP 65426 b is over 10,000 times fainter than its host star in the near-infrared and a few thousand times fainter in the mid-infrared. Webb has a near-infrared camera (NIRCam) and a mid-infrared instrument (MIRI), both of which are equipped with coronagraphs – sets of tiny masks that block starlight. “It was really impressive how well the Webb coronagraphs worked to suppress the light of the host star,” Professor Hinkley said. Image: The telescope captured four different views of the planet, HIP 65426 b. Photo: NASA Since the planet is about 100 times farther from its host star than Earth is from the Sun, the telescope can easily separate it from the star in the image. “Getting this image was like hunting for space treasure,” said Aarynn Carter, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, who led the analysis of the images. “At first all I could see was light from the star, but with careful image processing I was able to remove that light and reveal the planet.” While this is not the first direct image of an exoplanet taken from space, as the Hubble Space Telescope has taken direct images of exoplanets in the past, the image points the way for future observations that will reveal more information about exoplanets. “I think the most exciting thing is that we’re just getting started,” Mr. 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 previously unknown planets.” Last month the telescope revealed stunning details of the Cartwheel galaxy and previously observed a dying star and a ‘cosmic dance’.