The space telescope James Webb he managed to capture with his infrared “eyes” as possible Direct image of the TWA 7 Borbiting around the Star Twa 7 a 111 light years from the earth. The exoplanet candidate, that is, a planet that orbit around a star different from the sun, has one mass similar to that of Saturn (about 100 times that of the Earth) and represents the planetary object with the smaller mass ever observed with this type of technique outside the sun system. The discovery was possible blocking the light of the mother star through a coronographer which thus revealed the planet a 50 astronomical units From the star, coinciding with a region without dust on the proto-planetary disc from which other planets are in the formation phase. It is the first exoplanet discovered with the animating technique directed by James Webb.
How it was discovered twin 7b
The study published in the magazine Nature describes the details of the discovery of theEsopianeta Twa 7b. The researchers used the tool Miri (Mid-Infrared Instrument) James Webb space telescope to study the weak infrared emission of the exoplanet. Normally it is difficult to obtain a direct image of an exoplanet around another star because of the enormous difference in brightness that exists between the star itself and the planet. James Webb, however, is equipped with a coronographera small circular album that is physically able to block the light of the central star, allowing the infrared tool to detect the weak infrared emission of the exoplanet in orbit.
The researchers have naturally examined Further hypothesis about the nature of the discovered object. By studying its brightness in various wavelengths, the astronomers have excluded that it is a galaxy or a background star. By comparing the issue with that obtained through the use of simulated planetary emissions, the data seem confirm the planetary nature of twice 7 be its characteristics of exoplanet with mass 0.3 times that of Jupiter (or equivalently 100 times the terrestrial one) and temperature of about 47 ° C. Thanks to these data, the researchers were able to carry out the first discovery of an exoplanet through Direct image with the James Webb telescope. Two 7 B also represents the exoplanet with the smaller mass Never discovered outside the Solar System using the Direct Image technique.
What do we know about the star system twa 7
The study carried out with the James Webb telescope allowed us to obtain New details on the star system twa 7. The latter owes its name to the central star TWA 7, one young star, born suns 6.4 million years agowith one mass which is about the half of that of the sun. Around it, a debris disc, residues in the formation of the stellar system. The planets of the star system are also formed from these same debris, including the just uncovered Esopianeta Twa 7 B (for this reason they are also called protoplanetary records).
The larger proto-smalls form as a sort of corridors within the debris records, since with their gravity they tend to “clean up” the orbitby gravitating the smallest objects gravitating. The TWA 7 disc is divided into three distinct rings and the exoplanet signal was detected right in the interval between these rings. However, it is not always possible to observe the planets in the protoplanetary records. In fact, there is a need for the geometric configuration Earth-object be favorable. Two 7 B, in particular, is visa “face” from the earth, which made it possible to identify the exoplanet of Saturnian mass. Further observations with James Webb and other tools will be necessary to definitively confirm the nature of the exoplanet candidate.
