JWST reveals its first direct image discovery of an exoplanet

Image, coronagraph, and “censored” star

• The bright central star is intentionally blocked (coronagraph) so the faint planet can be seen; some joked this looked like censorship or clipart.
• A link is shared to the underlying image without graphics.
• The planet might still be a background galaxy; orbital motion over time should distinguish the two, though at 50 AU it may take a while.

What’s new about this discovery

• Commenters note JWST has directly imaged exoplanets before; what’s novel is using direct imaging as the discovery method, not just follow‑up on known planets.
• Some skepticism is expressed about simulations used to support the detection; models are useful but not independent data.

Limits of resolution and future imaging

• Multiple comments explain diffraction limits: at 110 ly, ~450 km aperture (or equivalent interferometer baseline) is needed for a ~100×100‑pixel image of a Jupiter‑like planet.
• Even at Alpha Centauri distances, multi‑kilometer apertures would be required; interferometry and synchronization at optical wavelengths are seen as extremely hard but not impossible.
• People ask about photon counts, radio vs optical, and whether telescope motion could be used like SAR; others clarify why single‑pixel IR detections are still powerful.

Solar gravitational lens and extreme concepts

• Several link and discuss NASA’s solar gravitational lens mission concept: send a probe to ~550 AU opposite a target star to get high‑resolution images after deconvolution.
• Enthusiasm is high, but there’s debate about feasibility: alignment, pointing, delta‑v, trip times (decades–centuries), long‑lived power sources, and component reliability over ~100+ years.
• Alternatives like Earth/atmosphere as a lens, space interferometer arrays, or Dyson‑swarm‑scale apertures are mentioned; some argue such future tech would make hiding civilizations impossible.

JWST, Roman Telescope, and politics

• JWST is praised as a “cathedral to science,” though some had questioned building it before cheaper heavy‑lift and better computational imaging.
• Others argue you can always say “wait for better tech,” so at some point you must build.
• The Nancy Grace Roman Telescope’s advanced coronagraph is highlighted, alongside concern that proposed US budget cuts could cancel it; some note other nations may pick up the torch.

Exoplanet detection biases and Planet Nine

• Direct imaging is biased toward wide‑orbit, massive, hot planets, complementing transit and radial‑velocity methods that favor close‑in planets; together they improve understanding of planet distributions.
• A question about why we can see planets 110 ly away but not a hypothetical “Planet Nine” prompts explanations: Planet Nine would be much smaller, colder, dimmer, and spread over a vast search area, versus bright objects close to well‑localized stars.

Philosophical and speculative threads

• Speculation ranges from imaging city lights on exoplanets to aliens observing Earth, FTL limits, and risks of interstellar war.
• Others discuss self‑replicating probes vs. ever‑better telescopes, Fermi paradox resolutions based on sheer spatial scale, and the possibility that we never travel beyond a few nearby systems.