Washington (AFP) – The James Webb Space Telescope has captured its first image of an exoplanet — a planet outside our solar system — as astronomers hail the instrument’s performance since its launch last year.
Images from the most powerful space telescope ever built have excited observers in recent months as it orbits the Sun a million miles (1.6 million kilometers) from Earth. Its latest ground-breaking photos show that the exoplanet, called HIP 65426 b, is a gas giant with no rocky surface and could not be habitable. “This is a transformative moment, not just for Webb but for astronomy in general,” said Sasha Hinckley, professor of astronomy at the University of Exeter, who led the observing team. Webb’s infrared gaze and coronagraphs — telescopic components that block starlight — allow it to take direct images of exoplanets. “It was really impressive how well the Webb coronagraphs worked to suppress the host star’s light,” Hinckley said in a NASA statement Thursday. The exoplanet HIP 65426 b has a mass six to 12 times that of Jupiter and is young — about 15 to 20 million years old, compared to Earth’s age of 4.5 billion years. The telescope, which only released its first images in July, has already revealed dazzling new detail of the Phantom Galaxy and the planet Jupiter. The Hubble Space Telescope has previously captured direct images of exoplanets, but in much less detail. “I think the most exciting thing is that we’re just getting started,” said Aarynn Carter, from the University of California. “We may even discover previously unknown planets.” The $10 billion Webb Telescope is a collaboration between NASA, the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency. It is expected to operate for about 20 years. © 2022 AFP
