Astronomers using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope<\/a> have discovered a giant exoplanet hiding within one of the most closely studied planetary systems in the Milky Way, revealing a new way to search for worlds beyond our solar system.<\/p>\n This artist\u2019s concept depicts the young Beta Pictoris planetary system with the newly discovered giant exoplanet, Beta Pictoris d, at the right. Beta Pictoris c circles closest to the star (left in this artist\u2019s concept), Beta Pictoris b follows on a wider orbit, and the newly discovered Beta Pictoris d lies farther out, just inside the debris disk\u2019s inner edge.<\/p>\n (NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Ralf Crawford (STScI) \/ NASA)<\/strong><\/p>\n Located about 63 light-years from Earth<\/a>, Beta Pictoris is a relatively young star system at just 23 million years old. While that may sound ancient to humans, it’s still young enough to offer astronomers<\/a> a rare glimpse into how planets form and evolve, according to a new study published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters<\/a>.<\/p>\n NASA’S ARTEMIS PROGRAM: PAVING THE WAY FOR HUMANKIND’S RETURN TO THE MOON AND BEYOND<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Astronomers already knew the star Beta Pictoris hosted two giant exoplanets: Beta Pictoris b, one of the first exoplanets ever directly imaged, and Beta Pictoris c. The newly discovered Beta Pictoris d makes it only the second known planetary system to contain at least three directly imaged planets, according to NASA<\/a>.<\/p>\n Unlike its planetary siblings, Beta Pictoris d wasn’t found by spotting a bright object in an image. Instead, Webb detected the planet through the chemical fingerprint of its atmosphere<\/a>, identifying planetary molecules like carbon monoxide, methane and water vapor.<\/p>\n The newly discovered third planet orbiting Beta Pictoris, Beta Pictoris d, appears in a reconstructed image from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. Using the telescope’s Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec), researchers confirmed the bright point of light was a planet by detecting the chemical fingerprint of its atmosphere. Models suggest it orbits its star at a distance similar to Neptune’s orbit around the Sun.<\/p>\n (\u00a0NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI; Science: Aidan Gibbs (UC San Diego), Jean-Baptiste Ruffio (UC San Diego); Image Processing: Alyssa Pagan (STScI) \/ NASA)<\/strong><\/p>\n The breakthrough marks the first time a directly imaged exoplanet has been discovered using the revolutionary method of moderate-resolution spectroscopy.<\/p>\n While Beta Pictoris was a system well-known to astronomers, Pictoris d remained hidden for years in what was described as a hide-and-seek game.<\/p>\n The exoplanet lies within one of the brightest known debris disks, that serves as a layer that hides the planet.<\/p>\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/stsci-01kx448cebrhbbjw579ag64g0h.jpg\")
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