The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has reached another milestone by directly capturing an image of its first newly discovered planet outside our solar system. The planet, named TWA 7b, is also the lightest exoplanet ever directly photographed. Astronomers detected TWA 7b orbiting a young star about 111 light-years from Earth in the constellation Antlia. The gas giant is roughly Saturn-sized, with approximately one-third the mass of Jupiter or about 100 times Earth’s mass. This makes it 10 times less massive than any previously imaged exoplanet. “Webb opens a new window — in terms of mass and the distance of … Continue reading Webb Telescope Makes History by Directly Imaging Its First Alien Planet