The James Webb Space Telescope has captured images of the exoplanet Epsilon Ende Ab, confirming the discovery of a planet 12 light-years away for the first time.
“This discovery is very exciting,” said Elisabeth Matthews, a senior astronomer at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy. “Because this planet is very similar to Jupiter. Although it is a little more massive and a little hotter. But it is more like Jupiter than any other planet we have ever imaged.”
Astronomers used the Mid-Infrared Survey Explorer (MIRI) on the James Webb Space Telescope to capture images of Epsilon Ende Ab, the coldest exoplanet ever directly imaged at just 2 degrees Celsius.
In images taken by the James Webb Space Telescope, the planet can be seen as a bright orange dot on the left side of the image. The light from Epsilon Indi A is blocked by the coronagraph, with a dotted white line indicating how far the star is blocked. MIRI's instruments can record images of exoplanets.
“Astronomers have predicted planets in this star system for more than a decade,” said Carolyn Morley, an astronomer at the University of Texas. “Including the fantasy of a planet in the Epsilon Indy star system in both novels.” Star Trek Or the Halo video game, it's exciting to discover that the planet is actually out there. And I have the opportunity to further explore its properties.
The discovery makes Epsilon Ende Ab the 12th closest exoplanet to Earth, and an exoplanet more massive than Jupiter, the closest planet to Earth. It also brings the total number of planets orbiting other stars to 5,690 confirmed cases.
picture: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, E. Matthews (Max Planck Institute for Astronomy)
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