Nasa reveals first ever image of planet outside our solar system taken by Webb telescope

Jon Kelvey
·1 min read
(Independent)
(Independent)

The James Webb Space Telescope has it’s first direct image of a distant exoplanet, an alien world outside of our Solar System.

Using a variety of instruments, Webb has returned multiple views of the exoplanet HIP 65426 b, a gas giant six to 12 times as massive as Jupiter located around 385 light years from Earth.

The exoplanet HIP 65426 b as imaged by the James Webb Space Telescope (Nasa)
The exoplanet HIP 65426 b as imaged by the James Webb Space Telescope (Nasa)

The results are part of an ongoing study, and have yet not been peer-reviewed or published in a scientific journal, but Nasa shared the preliminary results in a blog post Thursday morning.

“This is a transformative moment, not only for Webb but also for astronomy generally,” University of Exeter associate professor of physics and astronomy Sasha Hinkley said in a statement.