Astronomers have identified a third giant planet orbiting Beta Pictoris, a young star about 63 light-years away, NASA announced on 15 July. The discovery used the spectral signature of carbon monoxide to distinguish the planet from its surroundings, rather than relying only on a bright point in an image.
Follow-up observations with Webb and the Very Large Telescope strengthened the identification. The planet is estimated to have at least twice Jupiter's mass and to orbit at roughly 30 times Earth's distance from the Sun. The system offers researchers a comparatively young setting in which to investigate how multiple giant planets develop. The reported atmospheric signatures are tools for characterising the planet; they are not evidence of biological activity.