A team of astronomers led by Dr. Anne-Marie Lagrange at the Paris Observatory has made history by capturing the first direct image of an exoplanet, TWA 7b. Located 110 light years from Earth, this planet is about 10 times less massive than Saturn and orbits a star.
The discovery was made possible by a custom-built telescopic attachment that allowed scientists to observe the planetary system in a way that wasn’t previously possible. By “looking down” on the system, they were able to see three concentric rings of dust and debris around the star, as well as a brighter source within a narrow ring – the planet itself.
TWA 7b is thought to be a gas giant, with an orbital period of several hundred years, and is positioned about 50 times further from its star than Earth is from the sun. This finding provides fresh insights into the youth of the planetary system, which is estimated to be around 6 million years old.
The direct imaging of TWA 7b represents a major breakthrough in the field of exoplanetary science, and marks a significant step forward in our understanding of these distant worlds. The discovery was published in the journal Nature.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/jun/25/james-webb-space-telescope-first-direct-images-exoplanet