Ring Around Fomalhaut’s Star Imaged

Launched into space on December 25, 2021 and settled at the observation point in the summer of 2022, the James Webb Space Telescope has managed to reveal many unseen beauties in space. A new one has been added among these images.

Scientists from the University of Arizona observed the young star Fomalhaut and its surroundings, about 25 light-years from the Sun. Fomalhaut was home to the first asteroid belt seen in infrared light outside the Solar System.

Here’s the asteroid belt as seen through the eyes of James Webb:

Structure of the asteroid belt:

The observation also revealed some never-before-seen details:

This observation made with James Webb also brought to light unprecedented details in the asteroid belt. The intertwined structure of the rings we see in the image was revealed for the first time with this photograph. The inner ring has been observed for the first time.

The outermost ring is twice as far from Fomalhaut as it is from the Sun to the extreme point of the Kuiper belt. In addition, according to George Rieke, a member of the team, there may be some very interesting planets behind these rings.

The asteroid belt around Fomalhaut was first observed in 1983. Fomalhaut is referred to as one of the brightest stars in the sky and is located in the constellation of Pisces.