NASA's James Webb telescope finds giant Beta Pictoris d
Technology
NASA's James Webb Space Telescope just found a giant new planet, Beta Pictoris d, while checking out the Beta Pictoris star system, one of the most studied in our galaxy.
This planet sits 63 light-years from Earth and is part of a young, 23-million-year-old family of planets.
New planet likely twice Jupiter mass
Beta Pictoris d is likely at least twice as massive as Jupiter and has the widest orbit among its siblings, circling at 30 times the distance between Earth and the sun.
Scientists spotted it by picking up carbon monoxide in its atmosphere, then confirmed water vapor and methane using JWST's advanced instruments.
With three directly imaged planets now known here, this discovery gives us fresh clues about how planetary systems form and evolve.