Astronomers using NASA's James Webb Space Telescope have discovered a giant planet outside our solar system, called an exoplanet, hiding within one of the most intensely studied planetary systems in our Milky Way galaxy.
The newly identified planet, named Beta Pictoris d, is the third known planet orbiting young star Beta Pictoris and was detected using Webb's Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec), according to NASA. Beta Pictoris d was discovered not by identifying a bright point of light, but by detecting the unique chemical fingerprint of its atmosphere, a technique that could transform the search for worlds around other stars.
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According to NASA, Beta Pictoris is located about 63 light years away from Earth in the constellation Pictor, and is only 20 million years old, making it extremely young compared to our 46 billion-year-old Solar System, and therefore is an important laboratory for studying planetary formation.
NASA stated that the Beta Pictoris system is among the most intensely studied planetary systems because it contains a bright debris disk and previously known giant planets. Beta Pictoris d remained hidden despite years of observations, making the discovery particularly remarkable.
"This discovery adds another piece to an already fascinating planetary system," said Aidan Gibbs, lead author of a new study published Wednesday in the Astrophysical Journal Letters and a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, San Diego. "Beta Pictoris has long served as a laboratory for understanding how planetary systems form and evolve, and now we have another planet helping us tell that story."
NASA stated that Beta Pictoris d is much fainter than the other planets in the system, making it extremely difficult to detect.
Associated Press reported that the planet is roughly 100 times fainter than the two previously known giant planets orbiting Beta Pictoris, allowing it to remain unnoticed in previous observations.
Scientists say the planet's presence may help explain why the famous debris disk has such a sharply defined inner edge and other puzzling structures. In fact, astronomers had already predicted the existence of a planet like Beta Pictoris d to account for the disk's unusual structure.
According to NASA, studying Beta Pictoris d and the overall planetary system will help scientists better understand how giant planets form, how planetary atmospheres evolve, how young planetary systems develop over time, and how spectroscopy can be used to discover additional hidden worlds.
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