James Webb Telescope Spots First Alien Exoplanet: What We've Learned

The James Webb Space Telescope, launched in 2021, has discovered a young gas giant exoplanet, similar in size to Saturn, located around 110 light years away in the Antlia constellation. This marks the first time the telescope has found an alien exoplanet not previously known to humans.

Since its launch, the Webb telescope has been collecting data on known exoplanets and early universe data. It is a powerful tool capable of observing distant planets in terms of light years. The newly discovered exoplanet orbits a star called TWA 7 at a distance 52 times greater than Earth's distance from the Sun.

Most exoplanets discovered so far have been detected indirectly, but the Webb telescope's finding was a direct observation using a chronograph to block out the star's bright light. This discovery opens up new possibilities for studying the diversity of exoplanetary systems and their formation.

The star and planet in question are relatively young, around 6 million years old, compared to our solar system's 4.5 billion years. Scientists are eager to learn more about the exoplanet's atmosphere through future observations with the Webb telescope.

According to the source: Mint.