--- title: "James Webb Just Took Its First Direct Image of an Exoplanet" description: "NASA's James Webb Space Telescope just took its first direct image of an exoplanet, a gas giant, lurking outside of the Solar System." date: "2022-09-01" modified: "2022-09-01" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/james-webb-first-direct-image-exoplanet" categories: - "Astronomy" - "Exoplanets" - "James Webb Space Telescope" - "NASA" - "Space" tags: - "Exoplanets" - "james webb space telescope" - "NASA" - "the digest" --- # James Webb Just Took Its First Direct Image of an Exoplanet ![NASA's James Webb Space Telescope just took its first direct image of an exoplanet, a gas giant, lurking outside of the Solar System.]() *\Image: M. Weiss/Harvard & Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics\* ## Bullseye NASA's James Webb Space Telescope just took its [first direct image of a planet]() beyond our Solar System, in an impressive demonstration of the space observatory's groundbreaking capabilities that could uncover new details about worlds orbiting distant stars. The new image shows the exoplanet HIP 65426 b, an extremely young gas giant that's roughly six to 12 times the mass of Jupiter and located 363 light-years away in the constellation Centaurus. While the planet was [first discovered]() by scientists using the SPHERE instrument attached to the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope in Chile back in 2017, Webb's new observations allow us to see it without any interfering glow emanating from the Earth's atmosphere. "This is a transformative moment, not only for Webb but also for astronomy generally," said Sasha Hinkley, an associate professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Exeter who led the observations, in a [NASA statement](). https://twitter.com/NASAWebb/status/1565353100160176128 ## Super-Jupiter HIP 65426 b orbits its host star at three times the distance between Neptune and the Sun, or 100 times the distance between Earth and the Sun. **T**hat also means Webb can get a relatively detailed glimpse of the planet, according to NASA, as the glow emanating from host stars can often interfere with exoplanet observations. "Obtaining this image felt like digging for space treasure," said Aarynn Carter, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Santa Cruz who led the project, in the statement. "At first all I could see was light from the star, but with careful image processing I was able to remove that light and uncover the planet." ## Planet Discovery Researchers are now preparing the data for a paper. But they already can't contain their excitement of future observations like this one. "I think what’s most exciting is that we’ve only just begun," Carter said. "There are many more images of exoplanets to come that will shape our overall understanding of their physics, chemistry, and formation." That means "we may even discover previously unknown planets, too," he added. **READ MORE:** [NASA’s Webb Takes Its First-Ever Direct Image of Distant World]() \[NASA\] **More on Webb:** *[Scientists Puzzled Because James Webb Is Seeing Stuff That Shouldn't Be There]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()