In a groundbreaking discovery, Dr. Prashant Pathak from IIT Kanpur, along with an international team of astronomers, has identified a colossal planet within our solar system. This planet, which is comparable in size to the sun, has been termed a “super Jupiter” due to its massive size, being at least six times more massive than Jupiter. This makes it far larger than any other planet in our solar system.
Dr. Pathak, from the Department of Space, Planetary & Astronomical Sciences and Engineering (SPASE) at IIT Kanpur, and his team made the discovery using Direct Imaging techniques with the James Webb Space Telescope’s (JWST) Mid-InfraRed Instrument (MIRI). The newly discovered planet, named Epsilon Indi Ab, is the first directly imaged mature exoplanet found close to Earth and is officially classified as a super-Jupiter.
Unique Features of Epsilon Indi Ab
The newly discovered planet, located 12 light-years from Earth, is notably cold, with a temperature of about -1°C (30°F). Its orbit is extraordinarily vast, revolving around its star at a distance 28 times greater than the space between Earth and the Sun.
The planet’s atmosphere exhibits a unique composition, showing a high metal content and a distinct carbon-to-oxygen ratio compared to other planets in our solar system.
Previous attempts to study this giant planet, known as Epsilon Indi Ab, through radial velocity measurements were unsuccessful. The planet’s lengthy orbital period of approximately 200 years meant that short-term observations were inadequate to fully understand its properties.
Direct Imaging Technique
The details of this groundbreaking discovery have been published in Nature, one of the world’s leading multidisciplinary science journals, according to a press release.
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Direct imaging was essential for this discovery because it allows astronomers to observe the exoplanet directly, rather than inferring its presence through indirect methods like gravitational effects or starlight dimming. Given the intense brightness of the host star, detecting the faint light of the exoplanet could have been challenging with conventional methods.
To overcome this, the team utilized the James Webb Space Telescope’s (JWST) Mid-InfraRed Instrument (MIRI) camera, which is equipped with a coronagraph. This device blocks out the starlight, simulating an artificial eclipse. This technique enabled the team to capture faint signals from the planet amidst the bright glare of its host star, akin to observing the solar corona during an eclipse.
Future Research and Implications
Speaking about the discovery, Dr. Prashant Pathak, a leading member of the research team, expressed enthusiasm for the breakthrough. He noted that this finding is particularly thrilling as it offers a unique opportunity to study planets that differ significantly from those currently known.
“The planet’s atmosphere appears to have an unusual composition that indicates a high metal content and a different carbon-to-oxygen ratio than we see on our own solar system planets. This opens up fascinating questions about its formation and evolution. By studying Eps Ind Ab and other nearby exoplanets, we hope to gain a deeper understanding of planetary formation, atmospheric composition, and the potential for life beyond our solar system,” he explained.
Prof. Manindra Agrawal, Director of IIT Kanpur, stated that the discovery marks a significant milestone in exoplanet research and paves the way for future breakthroughs in the field.
“Being able to directly image a planet close to us provides an unprecedented opportunity for in-depth study. Dr. Prashant Pathak’s work in collaboration with international experts highlights the global contributions of IIT Kanpur in advancing our understanding of space,” she added.
Elisabeth Matthews, the lead author of the research article and a researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Heidelberg, Germany, stated, “We were excited when we realized we had imaged this new planet. To our surprise, the bright spot that appeared in our MIRI images did not match the position we were expecting for the planet.”
Thomas Henning, Emeritus Director at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy (MPIA), co-principal investigator of the MIRI instrument, and co-author of the study, emphasized that the team’s next objective is to acquire spectra that will offer an in-depth analysis of the planet’s climate and chemical composition.
“In the long run, we hope to also observe other nearby planetary systems to hunt for cold gas giants that may have escaped detection. Such a survey would serve as the basis for a better understanding of how gas planets form and evolve,” he said.
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