Space
New Exoplanet – Beta Pictoris d
- Background: Astronomers using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have discovered a new giant exoplanet, Beta Pictoris d, in the Beta Pictoris system.
About Beta Pictoris d
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- Beta Pictoris is a 23-million-year-old star system located 63 light-years away. It is known for its bright debris disk; it is the second planetary system found to host three directly imaged planets.
- Beta Pictoris d was detected via atmospheric carbon monoxide using JWST’s Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec). Its presence was subsequently confirmed through observations of water vapor and methane using the Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI).
- The planet has a mass approximately twice that of Jupiter and orbits its star at a distance of about 30 astronomical units (AU), near the inner edge of the debris disk.
- This is the first exoplanet to be primarily detected through moderate-resolution spectroscopy. It demonstrates a new method of discovering planets using atmospheric signatures.
