BULLETIN

JWST takes its first direct exoplanet image

The new telescope captures gas giant HIP 65426 b

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has released its first ever direct image of an exoplanet. The planet, HIP 65426 b, is a gas giant that’s a youthful 15–20 million years old.

As a high-resolution infrared telescope, JWST can directly image exoplanets with relative ease. Planets appear brighter at infrared wavelengths than in visual light, while stars are dimmer. This makes a significant difference even though the star is still 10,000 times brighter than the planet. JWST used a set of masks, called a coronagraph, to block out the star, while still letting through the light from the planet orbiting 100 times further out than Earth does from the Sun.

“I think what’s most exciting is that we’ve only just begun,” says Aarynn Carter from the University of California, Santa Cruz. “There are many more images of exoplanets to come that will shape our overall understanding of their physics, chemistry and formation. We may even discover previously unknown planets too.” webb.nasa.gov