NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has revealed a planetary system unlike most others studied in detail. The telescope imaged one of the two known planets surrounding the star 14 Herculis, located 60 light-years away from Earth. The exoplanet, 14 Herculis c, is one of the coldest imaged to date, with a surface temperature of just 26 degrees Fahrenheit (-3 degrees Celsius).
This discovery marks a new regime of study for the telescope, which has unlocked extreme sensitivity in the infrared, allowing scientists to directly image an older, colder exoplanet. The planet’s mass is about seven times that of Jupiter and orbits its host star at an unprecedented distance.
The system’s unique characteristic is the inclination of its two planets’ orbital planes, with one passing through the other like an ‘X’. This mis-aligned system has sparked theories on how the third planet was violently ejected from the system early in its formation.
Researchers are working to understand the planet’s atmospheric properties and dynamics using future spectroscopic studies. The James Webb Space Telescope is providing unprecedented insights into this strange system, shedding light on the formation pathways of the system and the potential outcomes for small planets like Earth.
With this discovery, scientists are pushing the boundaries of exoplanet research, exploring new frontiers in space science and expanding our understanding of the universe.
Source: https://science.nasa.gov/universe/exoplanets/frigid-exoplanet-in-strange-orbit-imaged-by-nasas-webb