Astronomers have made history by directly imaging four exoplanets beyond our solar system using the powerful James Webb Space Telescope. The large, gaseous worlds are located 130 light-years away in the Milky Way galaxy and offer a unique opportunity to study their composition and formation.
Led by William Balmer of Johns Hopkins University, the research was recently published in The Astrophysical Journal. The team used an instrument called a coronograph to block out much of the star’s intrusive light, allowing them to capture high-quality images of the exoplanets.
The four worlds are young, hot, and orbit relatively far from their star. They include HR 8799 e, which orbits 1.5 billion miles from its star, and HR 8799 b, which orbits around 6.3 billion miles from the star. The researchers detected gases such as carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide in the atmospheres of these planets.
“This is a tremendous achievement,” said Balmer. “We hope to understand our own solar system, life, and ourselves by comparing them to other exoplanetary systems.”
The James Webb Space Telescope has several key features that enable it to achieve this milestone. Its giant mirror, over 21 feet across, collects six times more light than the Hubble Space Telescope’s mirror. The telescope is also an infrared space telescope, allowing it to penetrate cosmic clouds and see more of the universe.
With its specialized equipment, the Webb telescope can analyze the unique light signals emanating from exoplanets, revealing details about their composition and formation. This technology may reveal new insights about the early universe and the formation of stars and galaxies.
The discovery of these four exoplanets is a significant step forward in the study of exoplanetary systems and offers a glimpse into how our solar system neighborhood compares to others in the galaxy.
Source: https://mashable.com/article/james-webb-space-telescope-planets-direct-images