[00:00.00]Astronomers say they have observed a new exoplanet that orbits far away from its star although it is a large and massive planet.
[00:14.56]An international group of researchers said they learned new things about the planet after examining data from the James Webb Space Telescope.
[00:28.85]The telescope is operated by the American space agency NASA.
[00:35.76]The gas giant, which has been named Epsilon Indi A b, was first discovered in 2019.
[00:46.81]It is also known as a "super Jupiter," meaning it is similar to Jupiter in our own solar system, but more massive.
[00:58.87]Scientists estimate the exoplanet's diameter is about the same as Jupiter's, but it is about six times more massive.
[01:12.70]The team said the planet has an atmosphere rich in hydrogen like Jupiter's.
[01:20.92]Epsilon Indi A b is estimated to be about 12 light-years away from Earth.
[01:29.28]A light year is the distance light travels in a year - about 9.5 trillion kilometers.
[01:40.24]International researchers led by Germany's Max Planck Institute examined new telescope images of Epsilon Indi A b. They said they learned the massive exoplanet orbits the star Epsilon Indi A, which is part of a three-star system.
[02:05.95]The scientists said one surprising discovery was that the exoplanet seems to take at least 100 years to orbit its star and possibly as many as 250 years.
[02:24.57]The research shows Epsilon Indi A b orbits its star at a distance equal to 15 times the distance from the Earth to our own sun.
[02:39.82]The researchers said they were able to "directly" observe the gas giant by using a tool on the James Webb to block the light of the planet's main star.
[02:54.85]The team was then able to identify the exoplanet as a bright spot of infrared light.
[03:04.06]The new findings recently appeared in a study in the publication Nature.
[03:11.88]Scientists estimate the planet and star are about 3.5 billion years old.
[03:20.82]That is 1 billion years younger than our own solar system.
[03:26.83]Elisabeth Matthews is an astrophysicist at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy.
[03:35.93]Matthews led the research.
[03:39.43]She told The Associated Press in an email the exoplanet appears to be older and brighter than had been thought.
[03:50.37]The team noted the planet's star is so bright that it can be seen with the unaided eye from the Southern Hemisphere.
[04:01.99]But Matthews noted that nothing in the newly collected data suggests that Epsilon Indi A b has the right conditions to support life.
[04:15.00]"This is a gas giant with no hard surface or liquid water oceans," she said.
[04:23.83]Matthews said studying worlds similar to Jupiter can help scientists understand "how these planets evolve" over many, many years.
[04:37.40]The first exoplanets outside our solar system were confirmed in the early 1990s.
[04:47.41]NASA's total count today stands at about 5,690.
[04:54.71]The majority of these exoplanets were identified through the so-called "transit" method.
[05:02.36]This involves repeatedly observing drops in starlight that might happen when a planet partly blocks light from its star.
[05:14.44]Land- and spaced-based telescopes also search for new data on exoplanets, especially ones that might be similar to Earth.
[05:27.51]NASA launched the James Webb Space Telescope in 2021.
[05:33.82]It is currently the largest and most powerful astronomical observatory ever placed in space.
[05:44.22]I'm Bryan Lynn.
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Words in This Story
exoplanet - n. a planet of a star that sits outside the solar system
diameter - n. the length of a straight line through the center of an object or space
evolve - v. to develop gradually over time
transit - v. to pass through or across a place, area of country, on the way to someplace else
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