Latest news with #CEAntliae
Yahoo
15-07-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
A newly discovered exoplanet rekindles humanity's oldest question: Are we alone?
Child psychologists tell us that around the age of five or six, children begin to seriously contemplate the world around them. It's a glorious moment every parent recognizes—when young minds start to grasp the magnificence and mystery of the universe beyond their nurseries and bedrooms. 5 work-from-home purchases worth splurging for How to battle work intensification This 'Iron Dome' for mosquitoes shoots down bugs with lasers That wonderment—their very own 'aha' moments, and the questions they provoke—are what truly make us human. And this summer, thanks to both the scientific triumphs of astronomers and the creative feats of pop culture, we are reminded once again that curiosity is our most powerful gift. Remarkably, the profound questions asked by our youngest philosophers continue to echo throughout our lives, returning again and again as the most compelling of all inquiries. Earlier this summer, the James Webb Space Telescope—launched in 2021 and continually gathering data on planets beyond our solar system—identified a previously unknown exoplanet. What made this discovery particularly groundbreaking is that, unlike earlier exoplanets detected indirectly by observing the dimming of starlight, this one was directly imaged. Even more exciting: according to NASA, this new exoplanet—named CE Antliae and roughly 100 times the size of Earth—is, based on its average temperature, theoretically capable of sustaining habitable life. I find this moment thrilling for many reasons. First, I hold the deepest admiration for the brilliance of NASA scientists—and the researchers whose work they built upon—that made this discovery possible. Second, it serves as a powerful reminder of the essential role government plays in pushing the boundaries of knowledge. These physical frontiers also invite us to explore existential ones. The possibility of a habitable planet offers a momentary escape from the noise of the daily news cycle, and reopens a question that has captivated us since ancient times: Are we alone? Simply looking up at the night sky—a universal gift—places us in the company of Democritus, Epicurus, and later, the Persians, who speculated about extraterrestrial life as far back as 400 BCE. It's one of humanity's oldest questions, fueled by an innate curiosity that rarely yields immediate answers. Of course, we're far from confirming whether this exoplanet has its own version of Uber or inhabitants with built-in AI. Science operates on its own timeline. To have directly observed an exoplanet only five years after Webb's launch could be seen as astonishingly fast—or perhaps not, given the advanced tools now at our disposal, from machine learning to quantum computing. In today's attention economy, dominated by thumb-scrolling and short-form content, we risk losing sight of the long view that science requires. The rise of generative AI and its future successor, AGI, may well disrupt the pace of discovery. But even then, the scientific process will still demand patience and rigor. We must remember: it took nearly a century to confirm Einstein's theory of gravitational waves. The theory of continental drift was proposed in 1912, but not proven until the 1960s. Black holes were hypothesized in the early 1900s, yet the first image didn't arrive until 2019. One of the many reasons I advocate so strongly for STEM education is that children need to understand science as a process—a patient, layered accumulation of insight. Humanity's oldest question—'are we alone in the universe?'—likely won't be answered quickly. And even if it is, critical thinking and the scientific method remain essential. Yes, flashes of insight can transform history. But even those leaps must launch from a foundation of conventional wisdom. Science is a continuous journey of discovery—both awe-inspiring and, at times, unsettling. Movies and literature have long reflected our obsession with the unknown—from 2001: A Space Odyssey and Contact to Dune. This summer, Alien: Earth premieres. Reading about this reimagining of first contact, I couldn't help but think of CE Antliae and how science and art intersect. The discovery of a potentially habitable planet pushes us to reconsider what we define as 'science fiction.' There are many paths through which humanity seeks to understand its place in the universe. And we need both our most gifted scientists and our most imaginative artists to help us ask—and keep asking—the cosmic questions that first stirred our six-year-old minds and have never let go. This post originally appeared at to get the Fast Company newsletter:
Fast Company
13-07-2025
- Science
- Fast Company
A newly discovered exoplanet rekindles humanity's oldest question: Are we alone?
Child psychologists tell us that around the age of five or six, children begin to seriously contemplate the world around them. It's a glorious moment every parent recognizes—when young minds start to grasp the magnificence and mystery of the universe beyond their nurseries and bedrooms. That wonderment—their very own 'aha' moments, and the questions they provoke—are what truly make us human. And this summer, thanks to both the scientific triumphs of astronomers and the creative feats of pop culture, we are reminded once again that curiosity is our most powerful gift. Remarkably, the profound questions asked by our youngest philosophers continue to echo throughout our lives, returning again and again as the most compelling of all inquiries. Definitely discoverable, possibly livable Earlier this summer, the James Webb Space Telescope—launched in 2021 and continually gathering data on planets beyond our solar system— identified a previously unknown exoplanet. What made this discovery particularly groundbreaking is that, unlike earlier exoplanets detected indirectly by observing the dimming of starlight, this one was directly imaged. Even more exciting: according to NASA, this new exoplanet—named CE Antliae and roughly 100 times the size of Earth—is, based on its average temperature, theoretically capable of sustaining habitable life. I find this moment thrilling for many reasons. First, I hold the deepest admiration for the brilliance of NASA scientists—and the researchers whose work they built upon—that made this discovery possible. Second, it serves as a powerful reminder of the essential role government plays in pushing the boundaries of knowledge. These physical frontiers also invite us to explore existential ones. The possibility of a habitable planet offers a momentary escape from the noise of the daily news cycle, and reopens a question that has captivated us since ancient times: Are we alone? Simply looking up at the night sky—a universal gift—places us in the company of Democritus, Epicurus, and later, the Persians, who speculated about extraterrestrial life as far back as 400 BCE. It's one of humanity's oldest questions, fueled by an innate curiosity that rarely yields immediate answers. Science has its own schedule Of course, we're far from confirming whether this exoplanet has its own version of Uber or inhabitants with built-in AI. Science operates on its own timeline. To have directly observed an exoplanet only five years after Webb's launch could be seen as astonishingly fast—or perhaps not, given the advanced tools now at our disposal, from machine learning to quantum computing. In today's attention economy, dominated by thumb-scrolling and short-form content, we risk losing sight of the long view that science requires. The rise of generative AI and its future successor, AGI, may well disrupt the pace of discovery. But even then, the scientific process will still demand patience and rigor. We must remember: it took nearly a century to confirm Einstein's theory of gravitational waves. The theory of continental drift was proposed in 1912, but not proven until the 1960s. Black holes were hypothesized in the early 1900s, yet the first image didn't arrive until 2019. One of the many reasons I advocate so strongly for STEM education is that children need to understand science as a process—a patient, layered accumulation of insight. Humanity's oldest question—'are we alone in the universe?'—likely won't be answered quickly. And even if it is, critical thinking and the scientific method remain essential. Yes, flashes of insight can transform history. But even those leaps must launch from a foundation of conventional wisdom. Science is a continuous journey of discovery—both awe-inspiring and, at times, unsettling. Pop culture meets the 'what's out there' question Movies and literature have long reflected our obsession with the unknown—from 2001: A Space Odyssey and Contact to Dune. This summer, Alien: Earth premieres. Reading about this reimagining of first contact, I couldn't help but think of CE Antliae and how science and art intersect. The discovery of a potentially habitable planet pushes us to reconsider what we define as 'science fiction.' There are many paths through which humanity seeks to understand its place in the universe. And we need both our most gifted scientists and our most imaginative artists to help us ask—and keep asking—the cosmic questions that first stirred our six-year-old minds and have never let go.
Time of India
26-06-2025
- Science
- Time of India
NASA's James Webb Space Telescope discovers new planet TWA 7b orbiting a young star 111 light-years away
The James Webb Space Telescope has officially discovered its first new planet after three years of supporting astronomers in studying known exoplanets. This young world is a groundbreaking discovery designated TWA 7b because it is the lowest-mass planet ever directly imaged outside the solar system. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now With an estimated mass of just 0.3 times that of Jupiter (or about 100 times that of Earth), TWA 7b is ten times lighter than any previously directly imaged exoplanet. James Webb Space Telescope captures young exoplanet TWA 7b The young exoplanet discovered by JWST: TWA 7b orbits a young, low-mass star called CE Antliae (also known as TWA 7), located approximately 111 light-years from Earth in the constellation Antlia. This star, discovered in 1999, is part of the TW Hydrae Association, a group of stars known for their youth. CE Antliae is thought to be just 6.4 million years old—a cosmic infant compared to our 4.6-billion-year-old Sun. Its youthful nature, along with its nearly pole-on orientation as seen from Earth, made it an ideal candidate for imaging with JWST. How James Webb Space Telescope spotted a new planet hiding in a dusty ring The key to discovering TWA 7b lies in infrared imaging. Young, low-mass planets like TWA 7b emit thermal radiation in the infrared spectrum, which is JWST's specialty. The telescope's Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI), along with its coronagraph, played a pivotal role. A coronagraph allows astronomers to block out the overwhelming light of a star, making it possible to detect faint nearby objects such as exoplanets. Using high-contrast imaging techniques, the JWST team was able to detect a faint infrared source embedded in the debris disc around TWA 7. This faint source turned out to be located in a gap between rings of dust—an area theorised to be carved out by a planet's gravitational influence. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Simulations confirmed that the presence of a Saturn-mass planet in that exact location could explain the observed structure. James Webb Space Telescope finds TWA 7b in a dust gap The disc around TWA 7 is not a random cloud of debris—it contains three distinct rings, with gaps in between. One of these gaps has a narrow ring flanked by two dust-free regions, a signature commonly associated with the gravitational forces of an orbiting planet. The infrared glow detected by JWST corresponds precisely to this ring gap, and its brightness, temperature (around 320 Kelvin or 47°C), and orbital distance (about 50 astronomical units from the star) all match what scientists expected of a planet in this region. What makes this discovery so significant The discovery of TWA 7b marks a milestone in exoplanet science for several reasons: First planet discovered by JWST using direct imaging Lowest-mass exoplanet ever directly imaged Potential first observational evidence of a planet influencing a debris disc New insights into planet formation in very young systems Astronomers believe that the structures seen in debris discs around young stars are blueprints for planetary formation. These rings and gaps represent zones where material is either accumulating to form planets or being cleared out by their gravitational pull. TWA 7b may be the first direct proof of this process in action. How James Webb Space Telescope new imaging techniques revealed the hidden planet TWA 7b To detect TWA 7b, researchers used advanced image subtraction methods. Removing residual starlight, they could separate the planet from Solar System bodies and background galaxies. This finding illustrates the way that new observing methods and instruments on JWST—such as the coronagraph and MIRI—are opening up our ability to discover hitherto inaccessible exoplanets. Due to JWST's mid-infrared sensitivity, it's now able to detect planets as massive and as cold as Saturn, a tremendous improvement in direct imaging. Future of exoplanet discovery with James Webb Space Telescope With its ability to suppress starlight and pick up the faint heat signatures of small, cold planets, JWST is opening a new frontier in exoplanet discovery. Astronomers are now optimistic that even lighter planets—possibly Neptune-mass or even super-Earths—could soon be within reach. Future follow-up observations will aim to: Confirm the planetary nature of TWA 7b Measure its exact mass, atmosphere, and temperature Study the dynamic interactions between the planet and its debris disc Look for Trojan dust clouds—collections of material that may share the planet's orbit. Also Read |
