IIT Kanpur discovered a new giant planet | IIT Kanpur discovered a new giant planet: Scientists said that this planet is similar to the Sun and very close to the star – Kanpur News

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The planet, Eps Ind Ab, is classified as a ‘super-Jupiter’, at least six times more massive than Jupiter, making it much larger than any planet in our solar system.

MIRI was used to take the images

Using the Mid-Infrared instrument (MIRI) of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWSTS), a team of astronomers has directly imaged a new exoplanet orbiting the K5V-type star Epsilon Indi A (also known as HD 209100 or HIP 108870). The direct image of a nearby mature exoplanet is a significant milestone in the field of space exploration, the team said.

This planet is very cold

This newly discovered planet is located 12 light years away from us. This planet is very cold, with a temperature of about -1 ° C (30 ° F). Its orbit is also very large and it revolves around its star at a distance 28 times greater than the distance between our Earth and the Sun.

With the help of JWST, we were successful in setting the right record

“When we realized we had imaged this new planet, we were very excited,” said study researcher Elizabeth Matthews of the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Heidelberg, Germany. “To our surprise, the bright spot seen in the MIRI images did not match the position we expected for the planet,” Matthews said.

“Previous studies had correctly identified a planet in this system, but its mass and orbital separation were underestimated.” With the help of JWST, the team was able to set the record straight.

Closer to unraveling the mysteries beyond planetary systems

Prof. Manindra Agrawal, Director, Institute said, “This discovery is a major milestone in exoplanet research and sets the stage for future discoveries, bringing us one step closer to unraveling the mysteries beyond our own planetary systems. Being able to directly image our nearest planet provides an unprecedented opportunity for in-depth study.”

Dr Prashant Pathak’s work in collaboration with international experts highlights IIT Kanpur’s global contribution in advancing our understanding of space.”

This discovery was exciting

Dr Prashant Pathak said, “This discovery is exciting because it gives us the opportunity to learn more about planets that are very different from our own. The atmosphere of this planet appears to have an unusual composition that indicates a higher metal content and a different carbon-to-oxygen ratio compared to the planets in our own solar system.”

“Our next goal is to obtain spectra that provide us with a detailed fingerprint of the planet’s climate and chemical composition,” said Thomas Henning, director emeritus at MPIA. “In a more far-reaching study, we also hope to observe other nearby planetary systems to search for cold gas reservoirs that have yet to be detected.”