Astronomers using Near-infrared camera (NIRCAM) NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope equipped and captured corona graphic images of the HR 8799 and 51 Eridani Planetary Systems. These observations revealed HR 8799 and four known gas giants around 51 Eridani. They also revealed that all HR 8799 planets are carbon dioxide-rich.
This Webb/Nircam image shows the multiplanet system HR 8799. Image credits: NASA/ESA/CSA/STSCI/W. BALMER, JHU/L. PUEYO, STSCI/M. PERRIN, STSCI.
HR 8799 is a star from 30 million years ago, about 129 light years away from the Pegasus constellation.
Hosts large chip disks and four supergipers: HR 8799b, c, d, and e.
Unlike most exoplanet discoveries inferred from data analysis, these planets are seen directly via ground telescopes.
“We have shown that the atmosphere of these planets has quite a lot of heavy elements, such as carbon, oxygen and iron.
“Given what we know about the stars, it's likely that it indicates that they were formed through Core landing this is an exciting conclusion for the planet we can see firsthand. ”
The planets within HR 8799 are still hot from the formation of the turbulent, ejecting a large amount of infrared rays that provide valuable data about how scientists formed.
Giant planets can take shape in two ways. Like giants in the solar system, by slowly building heavy elements that attract gas, or the particles of gas rapidly merge into giant objects from a cooling disk of a young star made of the same kind of material as the stars.
The first process is called core accretion and the second is called disk instability.
Knowing which formation models are more common can provide clues to scientists distinguish the types of planets they have found in other systems.
“Our hope in this type of study is to understand our own solar system, life and ourselves, in comparison to other exoplanet systems.
“We want to take photos of other solar systems and see how they look similar or different from us.”
“From there we can feel how strange or normal our solar system is.”
This Webb/Nircam image shows the 51 Eridani system. Image credits: NASA/ESA/CSA/STSCI/W. BALMER, JHU/L. PUEYO, STSCI/M. PERRIN, STSCI.
51 Eridanus is located approximately 97 light years from Earth in the constellation of Eridanus.
51 If called ERI, C ERIDANI, or HD 29391, the star is only 20 million years old and by astronomy standards it is merely a toddler.
Host one giant planet, 51 Eridani B. It orbits the star at a distance of approximately 13 AU (astronomical units), equivalent to that of Saturn and Uranus in the solar system.
Images of HR 8799 and 51 rib ticks were made possible by Webb's Nircam Coronagraph.
This technique allowed astronomers to look for infrared rays emitted by planets at wavelengths absorbed by a particular gas.
They discovered that the four HR 8799 planets contain more heavy elements than previously thought.
“There is other evidence suggesting these four HR 8799 planets formed using this bottom-up approach,” says Dr. Laurent Puueyo, an astronomer at the Institute of Space Telescope Science.
“How common is this on planets we don't know yet?
“We knew that Webb could measure the colour of outer planets in a directly imaged system,” added Dr. Remi Somer of the Institute of Space Telescope Science.
“We waited for 10 years to ensure that the finely tuned operations of the telescope had access to the inner planet.”
“We now have results and we can do some interesting science.”
Survey results It was published in Astronomy Journal.
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William O. Balmer et al. 2025. JWST-TST High Contrast: Living on the Wedge, or Nircam Bar Coronagraph reveals CO2 HR 8799 and 51 ERI extracts atmosphere. AJ 169, 209; doi:10.3847/1538-3881/ADB1C6
Source: www.sci.news
