The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has imaged a cold giant planet called 14 Her c in a dynamically hot, multi-planet system. This is the first mature and cold exoplanet directly observed in such a system. The planet’s unique architecture suggests a turbulent past with ongoing angular momentum exchange between its orbiting planets.
The image shows that 14 Her c has large eccentricities and a nonzero mutual inclination, pointing to an unstable planetary system. Its temperature is comparable to the coldest known brown dwarf, and its atmosphere contains water ice clouds, hinting at carbon disequilibrium chemistry.
This discovery presents a rare opportunity to study giant planet formation, multi-planet system evolution, and atmospheric composition in extremely cold worlds. The JWST’s relative astrometry of 14 Her c constrains the orientation of the two planets’ possible orbital planes, further confirming its findings.
The team behind the study hopes to gain insights into these phenomena using 14 Her c as a unique laboratory. Their research builds upon existing knowledge of planetary systems and expands our understanding of the complex interactions within them.
Source: https://astrobiology.com/2025/06/jwst-coronagraphic-images-of-14-her-c-a-cold-giant-planet-in-a-dynamically-hot-multi-planet-system.html