Astronomers using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope identified the new exoplanet, called Beta Pictoris d, through a unique chemical signal from its atmosphere, reported NASA . A giant planet has been discovered hiding in one of the most closely studied planetary systems in the Milky Way.
The discovery happened while the team was using the telescope’s NIRSpec, or Near-Infrared Spectrograph, to study the atmosphere of Beta Pictoris b.
The young and nearby star Beta Pictoris was already known to have two giant planets, Beta Pictoris b and Beta Pictoris c. Beta Pictoris b was one of the first exoplanets to be directly imaged. The discovery of Beta Pictoris d makes the system only the second known planetary system to contain at least three imaged planets. Unlike the other two planets, Beta Pictoris d was not discovered by identifying a bright point of light. Instead, astronomers detected the unique chemical fingerprint of its atmosphere. Astronomers were not searching for another planet with Webb. The discovery happened while the team was using the telescope’s NIRSpec, or Near-Infrared Spectrograph, to study the atmosphere of Beta Pictoris b.
Aidan Gibbs, lead author of the new study published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters and a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, San Diego, said this discovery adds another piece to an already fascinating planetary system. He said Beta Pictoris has long served as a laboratory for understanding how planetary systems form and evolve, and now another planet is helping tell that story. Gibbs said they were not looking for a new planet and were trying to understand one they already knew existed. He said a telltale signal then appeared in the data where they did not expect it.
