The Webb Space Telescope, launched in 2021, has spotted a gas giant roughly the same diameter as Jupiter but with six times the mass, orbiting a neighboring star, Epsilon Indi A. It might take this planet as long as 250 years to complete an orbit around its star.
The Webb Space Telescope, the most powerful and sophisticated astronomical observatory ever built, has detected a super Jupiter orbiting a nearby star. The planet, known as Epsilon Indi Ab, is roughly the same diameter as Jupiter but has six times its mass, making it a "super Jupiter."
One striking difference between Epsilon Indi Ab and Jupiter is its incredibly long orbital period. It takes the planet more than a century, and possibly as long as 250 years, to complete a single orbit around its star, Epsilon Indi A. This is 15 times longer than it takes Earth to orbit the Sun.
Super Jupiter with a Super Orbit Spotted by Webb Telescope
Epsilon Indi Ab orbits Epsilon Indi A at a distance of about 15 times the Earth-Sun distance, making it one of the farthest-known exoplanets from its host star. This extreme distance suggests that the planet may have formed in a different part of the Epsilon Indi system and later migrated to its current location.
The discovery of Epsilon Indi Ab is significant because it provides important insights into the formation and evolution of planetary systems. It demonstrates that Jupiter-like planets can form far from their host stars, even in relatively old and quiet systems.
Super Jupiter with a Super Orbit Spotted by Webb Telescope
In addition to its long orbital period, Epsilon Indi Ab is also notable for its age. The star Epsilon Indi A is about 3.5 billion years old, which is one billion years younger than our solar system. This suggests that the planet formed relatively early in the history of the star system.
The discovery of Epsilon Indi Ab was made using the Webb telescope's Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) instrument. NIRSpec is capable of detecting faint infrared light, which is emitted by distant objects like exoplanets.
The Webb telescope is a collaborative project between NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). It was launched in 2021 and is expected to revolutionize our understanding of the universe.
The discovery of Epsilon Indi Ab is a testament to the power of the Webb telescope and its ability to probe the secrets of distant planetary systems. Future observations with the Webb telescope will undoubtedly lead to even more exciting discoveries in the years to come.
