Webb image archive
Beta Pictoris System (NIRSpec IFU Image and Spectrum)
Researchers used the NIRSpec (Near-Infrared Spectrograph) Integral Field Unit on NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to map chemical contents of the Beta Pictoris system. As a ...
- Date
- Jul 15, 2026
- Observatory
- James Webb Space Telescope
- Credit
- NASA / ESA / CSA / STScI
- Archive ID
- beta-pictoris-system-nirspec-ifu-image-and-spectrum
Researchers used the NIRSpec (Near-Infrared Spectrograph) Integral Field Unit on NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to map chemical contents of the Beta Pictoris system. As a result, they discovered a third planet, Beta Pictoris d, orbiting the young star.
Instead of identifying the planet as a bright point of light, as seen in the reconstructed image, researchers searched the spectroscopic data for the molecular signatures expected from a giant planet atmosphere, allowing the object to stand out from the surrounding debris disk.
The extracted NIRSpec and MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) spectra of Beta Pictoris d display a distinctive series of carbon monoxide (CO) absorption lines. This molecular “fingerprint” identified the object as a giant planet, while measurements of the Doppler shift of the spectral lines provided the planet’s radial velocity, confirming it is gravitationally bound to the Beta Pictoris system.