UNITED STATES: Astronomers have released the first exoplanet image from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), showing a strange world. According to reports, the groundbreaking telescope performed by a factor of 10 better than predicted.
Now that it has been shown it can directly see exoplanets, it has already shown it can analyse the atmospheres of exoplanets as they pass in front of their Sun.
HIP 65426b is the name of the planet in question and is incredibly mysterious. Observations of it are essential to aid astronomers in improving their models because previous statements stated that it shouldn’t exist. This is because of the fact it doesn’t suit our models of exoplanets (planets outside the Solar System).
First of all, it revolves around a young star that spins extremely quickly and has a mass twice that of the Sun. Compared to our Sun’s 28-day rotation, it completes in just over three hours, which is 150 times quicker.
Furthermore, despite being a star between 15 and 20 million years old, it lacks a disc that planets may develop in. That’s only the beginning of the mystery.
HIP 65426b is situated 92 AU (astronomical units) away from its star (1 AU is the distance between the Earth and the Sun). Neptune is three times closer to the Sun than that. The planet is at a temperature of roughly 1,000°C (1,800°F) and is now thought to weigh about seven times as much as Jupiter.
According to a proposed theory, the planet may have originated with siblings closer to the star, rapidly causing the disc to vanish, and then through a gravitational fight, it ended up here, and the siblings were lost, according to one theory.
In a different scenario, the star and the planet both form while the star holds onto most of the material, preventing the planet from growing any larger or developing into a brown dwarf or star.
The planet is between 1,000 to 100 times fainter than its star in the infrared, the wavelength JWST observes. It is, therefore, astounding that the telescope can see it so well.
The International Astronomical Union is now seeking suggestions from the public for brand-new names for this planet and a number of others.
More detailed information can be seen in the paper published in the AAS journal.
Also Read: James Webb Space Telescope Captures a Stunning Picture of ‘Einstein Ring’
