NASA releases 1st image of planet outside of our solar system

The exoplanet has six to 12 times the mass of Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system.

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Friday, September 2, 2022
NASA releases 1st image of planet outside of our solar system
The exoplanet has six to 12 times the mass of Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system.

NASA has released its first image of a planet outside of our solar system.

Astronomers used NASA's James Webb Space Telescope to take a direct image of the exoplanet, described as a "gas giant."

NASA said it has no rocky surface and could not be habitable.

The exoplanet has six to 12 times the mass of Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system. NASA said it was found to be considered an interstellar baby at just 15 to 20 million years old.

"This is a transformative moment, not only for Webb but also for astronomy generally," said Sasha Hinkley, associate professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom, in a NASA blog post.

NASA said taking direct images of exoplanets is challenging because stars are so much brighter than planets.