Latest news with #Anne-MarieLagrange
Hans India
8 hours ago
- Science
- Hans India
James Webb Telescope captures first direct image of possible exoplanet TWA 7 b
For the first time, NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has captured a direct image of what scientists believe is an exoplanet—TWA 7 b—orbiting a young star located about 111 light-years from Earth in the constellation Hydra. The discovery, published in the journal Nature, marks a significant milestone for the JWST, which until now had primarily confirmed or studied exoplanets using indirect methods. Unlike typical techniques that rely on the dimming of a star's light when a planet passes in front of it, this new detection used JWST's coronagraph to block out the overwhelming glare of the star TWA 7, revealing a faint source of infrared light in its surrounding debris disk. 'This is the first time Webb has directly imaged an exoplanet, and the result is incredibly exciting,' says Anne-Marie Lagrange, lead author and astrophysicist at the French National Center for Scientific Research. 'The planet's position aligns exactly with predictions based on previous observations of gaps in the debris disk.' The object, TWA 7 b, is estimated to have a mass similar to Saturn's and a temperature around 120 degrees Fahrenheit. It resides within one of the disk's three dust rings, about 50 times farther from its star than Earth is from the Sun. The odds of it being a background galaxy are slim—only 0.34%—making it a strong planetary candidate. What makes this discovery even more remarkable is that TWA 7 b is roughly ten times lighter than any exoplanet previously imaged directly. It may also be the first planet observed actively shaping its star's surrounding debris disk—an insight that sheds light on how planetary systems like our own form and evolve. To confirm their findings, Lagrange's team ran simulations of the TWA 7 system. The models mirrored the Webb images almost exactly, reinforcing their confidence in the planetary nature of the object. 'This discovery is a testament to the power of JWST's instruments,' says co-author Mathilde Malin of the Space Telescope Science Institute. 'It opens the door to studying exoplanets that were previously out of reach, both in terms of their mass and distance from their host stars.'
Time of India
9 hours ago
- Science
- Time of India
James Webb captures first direct image of an exoplanet; key details inside
credit: In a groundbreaking moment for space exploration and technology, astronomers have captured the first-ever direct image of an exoplanet using the mighty James Webb Space Telescope. This is a significant achievement that marks a major leap in the ability of the world to study worlds beyond our solar system. There exists a more fascinating world, all waiting to be explored by us! The JWST has identified a faint source of infrared light in a disk of debris surrounding a young star, called TWA-7, approximately 34 light-years away from Earth. Their intelligent observations reveal that this planet is 10 times less massive than previous exoplanets to be directly observed with a telescope; the first was discovered back in 1992. But are we sure it is an exoplanet? What is the James Webb Space Telescope? Credit: canva JWST is one of NASA 's most powerful and advanced telescopes, launched back in December 2021. It doesn't orbit the Earth like other telescopes, but it orbits the Sun 1 million miles away from the Earth at what is called the L2 or second Lagrange point. Dr. Anne-Marie Lagrange, an astrophysicist at the French National Center for Scientific Research in Paris, quotes, 'The basic problem is that the star is bright and the planet seems to be a little faint.' Usually, the starlight outwits the planets, making them impossible to spot. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Adidas Three Shorts With 60% Discount, Limited Stock Available Original Adidas Shop Now Undo Dr. Anne, with all her colleagues, decided to focus on young stars that could be easily seen on the pole-on. The potential planet orbits roughly 50-52 times farther from its star than Earth is from the sun, and has a mass about one-third that of Jupiter's. Simulations of such an exoplanet in a dusty disk around a star produced images closely matching those from JWST. 'This was really why we were confident that there was a planet,' Lagrange says. What comes next? So, the team behind this magnificent discovery thinks that the JWST could soon be able to spot planets with just 10% of the mass of Jupiter, getting close to the size of Neptune. This groundbreaking discovery also gives scientists a roadmap for further space explorations and establishes ground-based telescopes that might detect even smaller and more Earth-like planets.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
James Webb Space Telescope's discovery of Saturn-like planet is total flex of its imaging power
Astronomers continue to expand the opportunities of discovery using Nasa's James Webb Space Telescope, and the recent findings of a possible Saturn twin is another first for the powerful instrument. A team of astronomers used Webb's Mid-Infrared Instrument to detect the faint source of light within the debris surrounding a 6.4-million-year-old star known as TWA 7, according to a new study published Wednesday in the journal Nature. What's exciting about this faint signal is that its brightness, color and distance from its star match theoretical predictions for a young, cold Saturn-mass planet. First Celestial Images From 10-Year Project Photographing The Universe Released "Our observations reveal a strong candidate for a planet shaping the structure of the TWA 7 debris disk, and its position is exactly where we expected to find a planet of this mass," said Anne-Marie Lagrange, lead author of the paper and CNRS researcher at the Observatoire de Paris-PSL and Université Grenoble Alpes. To find this hidden planet within the debris disk, the researchers used MIRI's coronagraph to suppress the bright light of the host star to search for any faint nearby objects. According to NASA, this technique is called high-contract imaging and allows astronomers to find objects like exoplanets that would otherwise be completely washed out by the light from their host stars. Astronomers Detect Pulse From Satellite That Has Been Dead For Decades The image above is a combination of ground-based observations from ESO's Very Large Telescope and data from Webb's Mid-Infrared Instrument. The star is marked with a circle and a star symbol; the bright orange spot to the right of the star is the possible planet dubbed TWA 7b within the debris disc. According to the study, TWA 7b has a mass about the same as Saturn and a temperature of around 120 degrees Fahrenheit. If confirmed, the planet orbiting star TWA 7 will be Webb's first direct image discovery of a low-mass planet and the lightest ever seen using high-contract imaging. More observations will hopefully confirm the planet article source: James Webb Space Telescope's discovery of Saturn-like planet is total flex of its imaging power
Mint
3 days ago
- Science
- Mint
Webb telescope discovers its first-ever alien exoplanet. Here's what we know
The James Webb Space Telescope, launched into space in 2021, has directly imaged and discovered a young gas giant exoplanet, which is approximately the size of Saturn, nearly 110 light years away from Earth in the constellation Antlia, reported the news agency Reuters, citing official researchers aware of the development. According to the report, this is the first time that the deep space telescope has discovered an alien exoplanet which was not previously documented by humans. Since the telescope's launch in 2021, the high-tech space equipment has gathered valuable data on various already-known planets beyond our solar system and early universe data. Scientists call these distant planets exoplanets. The Webb telescope is a highly capable piece of space equipment that can see distant planets in terms of light years. The new alien exoplanet is situated nearly 110 light years away from Earth, where every light year, the distance travelled by a ray of light in a year, is 9.5 trillion kilometres, according to the agency report. Most of the 5,900 exoplanets discovered since the 1990s have been detected through indirect methods, like the transit method, which observes the slight dimming of a star's light when a planet passes in front of it. The news report also highlighted that less than 2 per cent of the earlier exoplanets have been directly imaged, like the Webb telescope's current finding. The plant was found using a French-produced chronograph, a device which is used to block out the bright light from a star, equipped on the Webb telescope's Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI). The new exoplanet which is approximately the size of out Saturn orbits its host star called TWA 7 at a distance 52 times greater than Earth's orbital distance around the Sun, as per the agency report. '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,' said astronomer Anne-Marie Lagrange, cited by the news agency. Lagrange also highlighted how the indirect methods provide incredible information for planets close to their stars. However, the imaging is needed to detect and characterise planets which are further away in space. According to the agency report, the star and planet found in the research are practically newborns with about 6 million years in age, compared to our solar system, which is 4.5 billion years old. However, the report also highlighted that the researchers do not yet know the composition of the exoplanet's atmosphere, are are looking forward to the future findings of the Webb telescope to determine an answer. 'Looking forward, I do hope the projects of direct imaging of Earth-like planets and searches for possible signs of life will become a reality,' said Lagrange, as cited in the news agency's report.
Arab Times
3 days ago
- Science
- Arab Times
James Webb Space Telescope discovers new exoplanet through direct imaging
NEW YORK, June 26: Since its launch in 2021, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has not only provided extensive insights into the early universe but also gathered important data on known exoplanets — planets beyond our solar system. Now, for the first time, JWST has directly discovered a previously unknown exoplanet. The telescope captured an image of a young gas giant roughly the size of Saturn, orbiting a star smaller than the Sun about 110 light-years away in the constellation Antlia. (A light-year is the distance light travels in one year, approximately 5.9 trillion miles or 9.5 trillion kilometers.) Most of the approximately 5,900 exoplanets found since the 1990s have been detected using indirect techniques, such as the transit method, which measures the slight dimming of a star's light when a planet crosses in front of it. Less than 2% of exoplanets have been directly imaged, making this discovery notable. Although this planet is large compared to those in our solar system, it is actually the least massive exoplanet ever detected by direct imaging, being ten times lighter than the previous smallest one discovered. This highlights the remarkable sensitivity of Webb's instruments. This achievement was made possible by a French-built coronagraph—a device that blocks the intense light from a star—integrated into Webb's Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI). "Webb opens a new window in terms of detecting planets of smaller mass and at greater distances from their stars, previously inaccessible to observation," said astronomer Anne-Marie Lagrange of France's CNRS and LIRA/Observatoire de Paris, who led the study published in Nature. "This is key to exploring the diversity of planetary systems and understanding their formation and evolution." The newly found planet orbits its star, known as TWA 7, at a distance about 52 times that between Earth and the Sun. To provide perspective, Neptune—the outermost planet in our solar system—circles the Sun at about 30 times Earth's distance. The transit method excels at finding planets close to their stars, but imaging is essential for detecting and analyzing those orbiting farther away. Planetary systems begin with the collapse of a large molecular cloud of gas and dust under gravity, forming a central star surrounded by a protoplanetary disk of leftover material that eventually forms planets. Both the star TWA 7 and its planet are very young—around 6 million years old—compared to the Sun's age of roughly 4.5 billion years. Viewing the system nearly face-on, researchers could identify the structure of the disk, which contains two wide concentric rings of rocky and dusty material, along with a narrow ring where the planet resides. The composition of the planet's atmosphere remains unknown, but future JWST observations may shed light on this. Scientists also aren't sure whether the young planet is still growing by accumulating nearby material. While this is the smallest exoplanet directly imaged to date, it is still far more massive than rocky planets like Earth, which are prime targets in the search for extraterrestrial life. Despite JWST's powerful near- and mid-infrared capabilities, it currently cannot directly image Earth-sized exoplanets. 'Looking ahead, I hope that direct imaging of Earth-like planets and the search for signs of life will become achievable,' Lagrange concluded.
