Latest news with #lightyears
Khaleej Times
19 hours ago
- Science
- Khaleej Times
For first time, Webb telescope discovers an alien planet
In addition to providing a trove of information about the early universe, the James Webb Space Telescope since its 2021 launch has obtained valuable data on various already-known planets beyond our solar system, called exoplanets. Now, for the first time, Webb has discovered an exoplanet not previously known. Webb has directly imaged a young gas giant planet roughly the size of Saturn, our solar system's second-largest planet, orbiting a star smaller than the sun located about 110 light-years from Earth in the constellation Antlia, researchers said. A light-year is the distance light travels in a year, 5.9 trillion miles (9.5 trillion km). Most of the roughly 5,900 exoplanets discovered since the 1990s have been detected using indirect methods, such as through observation of the slight dimming of a star's light when a planet passes in front of it, called the transit method. Less than 2% of them have been directly imaged, as Webb did with the newly identified planet. While this planet is large when considered in the context of our solar system, it is actually the least massive one ever discovered through direct imaging - 10 times less massive than the previous record holder. This speaks to the sensitivity of Webb's instruments. This discovery was achieved using a French-produced coronagraph, a device that blocks out the bright light from a star, installed on Webb's Mid-Infrared Instrument, or MIRI. "Webb opens a new window - in terms of mass and the distance of a planet to the star - of exoplanets that had not been accessible to observations so far. This is important to explore the diversity of exoplanetary systems and understand how they form and evolve," said astronomer Anne-Marie Lagrange of the French research agency CNRS and LIRA/Observatoire de Paris, lead author of the study published on Wednesday in the journal Nature. The planet orbits its host star, called TWA 7, at a distance about 52 times greater than Earth's orbital distance from the sun. To put that in perspective, our solar system's outermost planet Neptune orbits about 30 times further from the sun than Earth. The transit method of discovering exoplanets is particularly useful for spotting those orbiting close to their host star rather than much further out like the newly identified one. "Indirect methods provide incredible information for planets close to their stars. Imaging is needed to robustly detect and characterize planets further away, typically 10 times the Earth- to-sun distance," Lagrange said. The birth of a planetary system begins with a large cloud of gas and dust - called a molecular cloud - that collapses under its own gravity to form a central star. Leftover material spinning around the star in what is called a protoplanetary disk forms planets. The star and the planet in this research are practically newborns - about 6 million years old, compared to the age of the sun and our solar system of roughly 4.5 billion years. Because of the angle at which this planetary system is being observed - essentially looking at it from above rather than from the side - the researchers were able to discern the structure of the remaining disk. It has two broad concentric ring-like structures made up of rocky and dusty material and one narrow ring in which the planet is sitting. The researchers do not yet know the composition of the planet's atmosphere, though future Webb observations may provide an answer. They also are not certain whether the planet, being as young as it is, is still gaining mass by accumulating additional material surrounding it. While this planet is the smallest ever directly imaged, it is still much more massive than rocky planets like Earth that might be good candidates in the search for life beyond our solar system. Even with its tremendous capabilities of observing the cosmos in near-infrared and mid-infrared wavelengths, Webb is still not able to directly image Earth-sized exoplanets. "Looking forward, I do hope the projects of direct imaging of Earth-like planets and searches for possible signs of life will become a reality," Lagrange said.
Yahoo
18-06-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Scientists claim they just discovered an ‘ultramassive' black hole heavier than any other we've found
If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, BGR may receive an affiliate commission. Astronomers have uncovered what they say just might be the heaviest black hole we've ever seen. The 'ultramassive' black hole is located at the center of a galaxy nearly six billion light years away. Based on measurements, astronomers say that the black hole weighs as much as 36 billion times the mass of our Sun. That's a pretty massive black hole, of course, and one that certainly raises some questions about how big these cosmic objects can get. The astronomers say they found the black hole while observing the Cosmic Horseshoe, a rare gravitational lensing system that was first observed in 2007. The new research is currently published via arXiv. Today's Top Deals Best deals: Tech, laptops, TVs, and more sales Best Ring Video Doorbell deals Memorial Day security camera deals: Reolink's unbeatable sale has prices from $29.98 The Cosmic Horseshoe is what many consider a near-perfect example of gravitational lensing. As such, it has garnered quite a bit of attention from astronomers over the years. And considering how far away the system is, it made measuring the black hole much more difficult, as even observing ultramassive black holes like this can be challenging. However, the team behind this new paper took a different approach. Instead of looking directly at the black hole, they instead focused on data captured from the Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE), an instrument on the Very Large Telescope. Paired with high-res images taken by Hubble, they were able to piece together the rough measurements of the galaxy itself and determine that this black hole is the heaviest black hole we've ever measured. The key here, researchers note, was combining the data gathered from the motion of the stars with the distortion caused by the gravitational lensing. This helped them get a good look at just how big this ultramassive black hole might be. Of course, saying exactly how big it is with any certainty is always going to be tough, especially at almost six billion miles away. Black holes have long been targets of astronomical observations. Not only have we discovered rogue black holes roaming the universe, but we've also watched black holes eat away at nearby stars and planets. While there's still a lot we don't know about these cosmic giants, findings like this bring us one step closer to closing the gaps in our knowledge. All we can do now is keep observing this ultramassive black hole and the galaxy system that it calls home. Perhaps we'll pick up even more clues about its size and how it affects the universe around it in the months and years to come. More Top Deals Amazon gift card deals, offers & coupons 2025: Get $2,000+ free See the
