NASA’S James Webb Space Telescope has captured its first direct image of an exoplanet

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has captured direct images of an exoplanet, TWA 7 b, outside of our solar system, a feat never accomplished before. Exoplanets are typically discovered through indirect methods, but Webb directly imaged the planet, which is around the mass of Saturn and 100 light years away from Earth. The planet has a wider orbital period that lasts several hundred years and is part of a 6 million-year-old planetary system. The research team, led by Dr. Anne-Marie Lagrange, used a telescopic attachment to reduce the light from the host star, allowing them to observe the planet. The planet appears as a bright source of light with a narrow ring of debris, and while there's a small chance it could be a background galaxy, the evidence strongly suggests it's a previously undiscovered planet. This is the first time a planet of this size has been directly observed with a telescope, as it's typically masked by the host star's light. The discovery is significant, as most exoplanets are discovered through indirect methods, and only a few have been directly imaged. The James Webb Space Telescope has made several stunning discoveries, including capturing an "Einstein Ring" and finding the most distant galaxy ever observed. The telescope's ability to directly image exoplanets will provide new insights into the formation and development of planetary systems. This achievement marks a major milestone in the study of exoplanets and will likely lead to further discoveries in the field.