Webb Telescope Unveils Super Jupiter with Record-Long Orbit

The Webb Space Telescope has discovered a Super Jupiter with an extraordinarily long orbit around Epsilon Indi A, a star 12 light-years from Earth. This gas giant, with six times the mass of Jupiter, takes between 100 to 250 years to complete one orbit. These findings were led by Elisabeth Matthews of the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy.

A groundbreaking discovery by the Webb Space Telescope has revealed a Super Jupiter with an unusually long orbit around a neighboring star. Known as Epsilon Indi A, this star is part of a three-star system located 12 light-years away from Earth.

The newly identified planet, although similar in diameter to Jupiter, possesses six times its mass and takes between 100 to 250 years to complete an orbit. This places it 15 times farther from its star compared to Earth's distance from the sun.

The international research team, led by Elisabeth Matthews from the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, published their findings in the journal Nature. Using Webb's advanced technology and a special shading device, astronomers successfully masked the star's light, enabling them to observe the gas giant directly. The planet and its star are estimated to be 3.5 billion years old, still relatively young and bright by cosmic standards. This discovery sheds light on the evolution of similar planetary systems over billions of years.

(With inputs from agencies.)