NASA Scientists Snap First Photo of Baby Planet Orbiting Its Star
In a groundbreaking discovery, astronomers have directly captured images of a baby planet, called WISPIT 2b, embedded in a ring-shaped gap around its young star. This is the first time that such an object has been photographed.
WISPIT 2b, which is about five million years old and about 437 light-years away from Earth, is a gas giant five times as massive as Jupiter. The discovery was made using advanced imaging technology, including the University of Arizona's MagAO-X extreme adaptive optics system.
The star WISPIT 2 was first observed using the Very Large Telescope - Spectro-Polarimetric High-contrast Exoplanet REsearch (VLT-SPHERE) telescope in Chile. Researchers then spotted the planet WISPIT 2b for the first time, using MagAO-X to capture a direct image of the protoplanet.
The discovery provides new insights into the formation and evolution of planets around young stars. The team used advanced spectroscopic techniques to study the H-alpha light emitted by hydrogen gas falling from the protoplanetary disk onto WISPIT 2b.
This is a significant breakthrough in the field of exoplanetary science, as it confirms our understanding of how planets form and evolve around young stars. The discovery also opens up new avenues for research into the formation of planetary systems and the search for life beyond Earth.
The team behind this discovery includes University of Arizona astronomer Laird Close and Richelle van Capelleveen, an astronomy graduate student at Leiden Observatory in the Netherlands. Their work was partially supported by grants from NASA and the U.S. National Science Foundation.
This groundbreaking discovery is a testament to the power of advanced imaging technology and the dedication of scientists working to advance our understanding of the universe.
In a groundbreaking discovery, astronomers have directly captured images of a baby planet, called WISPIT 2b, embedded in a ring-shaped gap around its young star. This is the first time that such an object has been photographed.
WISPIT 2b, which is about five million years old and about 437 light-years away from Earth, is a gas giant five times as massive as Jupiter. The discovery was made using advanced imaging technology, including the University of Arizona's MagAO-X extreme adaptive optics system.
The star WISPIT 2 was first observed using the Very Large Telescope - Spectro-Polarimetric High-contrast Exoplanet REsearch (VLT-SPHERE) telescope in Chile. Researchers then spotted the planet WISPIT 2b for the first time, using MagAO-X to capture a direct image of the protoplanet.
The discovery provides new insights into the formation and evolution of planets around young stars. The team used advanced spectroscopic techniques to study the H-alpha light emitted by hydrogen gas falling from the protoplanetary disk onto WISPIT 2b.
This is a significant breakthrough in the field of exoplanetary science, as it confirms our understanding of how planets form and evolve around young stars. The discovery also opens up new avenues for research into the formation of planetary systems and the search for life beyond Earth.
The team behind this discovery includes University of Arizona astronomer Laird Close and Richelle van Capelleveen, an astronomy graduate student at Leiden Observatory in the Netherlands. Their work was partially supported by grants from NASA and the U.S. National Science Foundation.
This groundbreaking discovery is a testament to the power of advanced imaging technology and the dedication of scientists working to advance our understanding of the universe.
just when u thought we're done discoverin weird stuff in space, Nasa just drops news about baby planet WISPIT 2b orbitin around its star 
... 5 MILLION yrs old & 437 light-years away from us! That's like, whoa 
. Gas giant 5x more massive than Jupiter? Mind blown 
. Scientists used advanced tech to snap pic of it, can't wait for more info 
. This discovery is gonna open up new avenues for research into planetary systems & searchin for life beyond Earth 
, tryin' figure out who we are & where we fit in the grand scheme 
. five million years old & already five times as massive as Jupiter? that's like our whole lives passed in the blink of an eye 
, but the universe just keeps on movin' at its own pace 
.
. but it's not just about the technology or the data, it's about the questions we ask ourselves 
.
. who knows what other secrets we'll uncover, and how they'll change our understanding of ourselves & the universe? 
This tech is wild, can't wait for more discoveries like this!"
, I mean, what's next? These young stars are like cosmic factories, churning out planets that can't even survive for five million years 
. And now we're trying to study how they formed and evolved... like, isn't it too late for that? 
The universe is just gonna keep on moving forward, no matter what we learn 
it's gonna be so interesting to study wispit 2b and learn more about how planets form and evolve around young stars 
! The way NASA scientists were able to capture this image using that fancy MagAO-X system is just insane 
. I mean, what other secrets are hiding in those galaxies waiting to be uncovered? 
. but anyway, back to space stuff - isn't it wild how they can see these tiny planets orbiting stars now? it's like we're one step closer to finding life elsewhere