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 a planet outside of our solar system, which is the first time it has accomplished such a feat. This is a very big deal because exoplanets don't put out much light, so researchers typically discover new planets through indirect methods like keeping track of shadows as they pass across a host star.

Webb, however, didn't have to do all that. It has directly captured images of a planet called TWA 7 b. Scientists believe the planet is around the mass of Saturn and is located 100 light years away from Earth.

A never-before-seen planet! 🪐

This is Webb’s first discovery of a planet using direct imaging. With a mass similar to Saturn, it’s also the lightest exoplanet yet seen using this technique! https://t.co/ptWcXlFfmW pic.twitter.com/XTGwIqgH8n

— NASA Webb Telescope (@NASAWebb ...