James Webb space telescope spots its first exoplanet TWA 7b
The James Webb Space Telescope been has been sending incredible images of space back to Earth and helping scientists learn more about the universe since its launch in 2021.And, now there is a new discovery to add to the list.The telescope, which can see further into the universe than anything before it, has just spotted its first exoplanet. TWA 7b, is located around a hundred light years from Earth and is thought to be a relatively young 6.4 million years old.
What did the James Webb telescope spot?
Until now, the James Webb space telescope has mostly been used to learn more about already known exoplanets, rather than look for new worlds.Now, for the first time, the powerful telescope has discovered an exoplanet not previously known to scientists.The international team, led by Dr Anne-Marie Lagrange, researcher at the Paris Observatory and Grenoble Alpes University in France, decided to point the telescope Webb at a star called TWA 7 - around a hundred light years from Earth.Using hi-tech instruments on board, the space telescope was able to block out light from stars, helping it to observe nearby fainter objects.This helped it spot the exoplanet TWA 7b, a young gas giant planet roughly the size of Saturn - our solar system's second-largest planet - orbiting a star about 110 light-years from Earth in the constellation Antlia.In a statement, France's CNRS research centre said that the discovery "represents a first for the telescope."Dr. Anne-Marie Lagrange explained: "Webb opens a new window - in terms of mass and the distance of a planet to the star - of exoplanets that had not been accessible to observations so far. "This is important to explore the diversity of exoplanetary systems and understand how they form and evolve," she added.Scientists are now looking to find out more about TWA 7b and hope that the telescope could help them discover "Earth-like planets" one day.
What is an exoplanet?
Exoplanets are planets that orbit a different star than our Sun - in a different solar system to ours.Even though scientists thought for a long time that they must exist, it was only in 1992 that the first exoplanet was discovered.Recent work to find more exoplanets has produced some exciting results too.In 2015, scientists discovered the exoplanet Kepler-452b, which was described as 'Earth's cousin' because of its close similarities to our planet.Space experts say exoplanets are really important because they raise the possibility that life could exist in other solar systems.
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The Guardian
4 hours ago
- The Guardian
‘It's something that happens': are we doing enough to save Earth from a devastating asteroid strike?
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This attention-grabbing close encounter has prompted the UN to designate 2029 as the international year of planetary defence. When it comes to apocalyptic asteroid strikes, there is precedent, of course. Most scientists believe such an event hastened the demise of non-avian dinosaurs 66m years ago. 'This is something that happens,' said Colin Snodgrass, a professor of planetary astronomy at the University of Edinburgh. 'Not very often, but it is something that happens. And it's something that we could potentially do something about.' As Chris Lintott, a professor of astrophysics at the University of Oxford, told the UK parliament's science, innovation and technology committee this week, the risk posed by an asteroid originating beyond our solar system is minimal. Instead, he said, the greater threat comes from those in our cosmic back yard. 'Most asteroids in the solar system exist in the asteroid belt, which is between Mars and Jupiter, but they become disrupted, usually by encounters with either of those planets, and they can move into orbits that cross the Earth,' said Lintott, who presents the long-running BBC astronomy series The Sky at Night. 'Then it's just a case of whether we're in the wrong place at the wrong time.' The chances of an enormous asteroid – the type that did for the dinosaurs – hitting Earth is admittedly low. 'We think there's one of these every 10m to 100m years, probably,' Lintott told the Guardian. 'So I think you'd be right to ignore that when you decide whether to get up on a Thursday morning or not.' Snodgrass said there were 'precisely four' asteroids big enough and close enough to Earth to be considered 'dino-killers', and added: 'We know where they are, and they're not coming anywhere near us.' But damage can also be done by smaller asteroids. According to Nasa, space rocks measuring about one to 20 metres across collided with Earth's atmosphere resulting in fireballs 556 times over 20 years. Many collisions have occurred over the oceans, but not all. 'Chelyabinsk is the best example,' Lintott said. In 2013, a house-sized space rock – thought to have been about 20 metres across – exploded in the air above the Russian city with a force of nearly 30 Hiroshima bombs, producing an airburst that caused significant damage and hundreds of injuries, mostly from broken glass. Less dramatically, in February 2021 a space rock thought to have been just tens of centimetres across broke up in Earth's atmosphere, with fragments landing in the Cotswold town of Winchcombe in the UK. Thankfully, the damage was confined to a splat mark on a driveway. The types of asteroids we should perhaps be most concerned about are those about 140 metres across. 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BBC News
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Daily Mail
a day ago
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US general warns China is winning the military space race
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