NASA’s Webb Redefines Dividing Line Between Planets, Stars

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Fact Sheet Impacts+Benefits FAQ Webb Timeline Science Overview and Goals Early Universe Galaxies Over Time Star Lifecycle Other Worlds Science/Engineering Explainers Observatory Overview Launch Deployment Orbit Mirrors Sunshield Instruments & ISIM Module Instrument: NIRCam Instrument: MIRI Instrument: NIRSpec Instrument: FGS/NIRISS Optical Telescope Element Backplane Spacecraft Bus Multimedia About Webb Images Images Videos What is Webb Observing?

Key Details

3d Webb in 3d Solar System Podcasts Webb Image Sonifications Webb’s First Images Team International Team People Of Webb More For the Media For Scientists For Educators For Fun/Learning 5 Min Read NASA’s Webb Redefines Dividing Line Between Planets, Stars Astronomers used NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to directly image 29 Cygni b, which weighs 15 times Jupiter.
They found evidence for heavy chemical elements like carbon and oxygen, which strongly suggests it formed like a planet by accretion within a protoplanetary disk.
Credits: Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, William Balmer (JHU, STScI), Laurent Pueyo (STScI); Image Processing: Alyssa Pagan (STScI) Planets, like those in our solar system, form in a bottom-up process where small bits of rock and ice clump together and grow larger over time.
But the heftier the planet, the harder it is to explain its formation that way.

Background Context

Explore Webb Science James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) NASA’s Webb Redefines… Webb News Latest News Latest Images Webb’s Blog Awards X (offsite – login reqd) Instagram (offsite – login reqd) Facebook (offsite- login reqd) Youtube (offsite) Overview About Who is James Webb? Fact Sheet Impacts+Benefits FAQ Webb Timeline Science Overview and Goals Early Universe Galaxies Over Time Star Lifecycle Other Worlds Science/Engineering Explainers Observatory Overview Launch Deployment Orbit Mirrors Sunshield Instruments & ISIM Module Instrument: NIRCam Instrument: MIRI Instrument: NIRSpec Instrument: FGS/NIRISS Optical Telescope Element Backplane Spacecraft Bus Multimedia About Webb Images Images

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Source: NASA – Original Link

Source: NASA