Due to the lapse in federal government funding, NASA is not updating this website.

Suggested Searches

 

1 min read

HR 8799 (NIRCam Image)

This image shows the planetary system HR 8799. The background is black. At the center there is a symbol representing a star labeled HR 8799. The star’s light is blocked. There are four exoplanets, which look like fuzzy dots, pictured surrounding the star. Furthest from the star is a fuzzy, faint blue dot, labeled b, at the 10 o’clock position. At the 1 o’clock position, second furthest from the star is a blueish-white fuzzy dot labeled c. Just below that is an orange dot labeled e. At the 4 o’clock position, still near the star, is another fuzzy white dot labeled d.

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has provided the clearest look yet at the iconic multi-planet system HR 8799. The observations detected carbon dioxide in each of the planets, which provides strong evidence that the system’s four giant planets formed much like Jupiter and Saturn, by slowly building solid cores that attract gas from within a protoplanetary disk.

Colors are applied to filters from Webb’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera), revealing their intrinsic differences. A star symbol marks the location of the host star HR 8799, whose light has been blocked by a coronagraph.

The colors in this image, which represent different wavelengths captured by Webb’s NIRCam, tell researchers about the temperatures and composition of the planets. HR 8799 b, which orbits around 6.3 billion miles from the star, is the coldest of the bunch, and the richest in carbon dioxide. HR 8799 e orbits 1.5 billion miles from its star, and likely formed closer to the host star, where there were stronger variations in the composition of material.

In this image, the color blue is assigned to 4.1 micron light, green to 4.3 micron light, and red to the 4.6 micron light.

About the Object

  • R.A. Position
    R.A. PositionRight ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position.
    23:07:28.901
  • Dec. Position
    Dec. PositionDeclination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position.
    +21:08:02.12
  • Constellation
    ConstellationOne of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears.
    Pegasus
  • Distance
    DistanceThe physical distance from Earth to the astronomical object. Distances within our solar system are usually measured in Astronomical Units (AU). Distances between stars are usually measured in light-years. Interstellar distances can also be measured in parsecs.
    About 127 light-years away

About the Data

  • Data Description
    Data DescriptionProposal: A description of the observations, their scientific justification, and the links to the data available in the science archive.
    Science Team: The astronomers who planned the observations and analyzed the data. "PI" refers to the Principal Investigator.

    This image was created with Webb data from proposal: 1194 (C. A. Beichman). Image processing: Alyssa Pagan (STScI).

  • Instrument
    InstrumentThe science instrument used to produce the data.
    NIRCam Coronagraph
  • Exposure Dates
    Exposure DatesThe date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time.
    27 November 2022, 05 Novemebr 2023
  • Filters
    FiltersThe camera filters that were used in the science observations.
    F410M, F430M, F460M
  • Object Name
    Object NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.
    HR 8799
  • Object Description
    Object DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.
    Star with planets and debris disk
  • Release Date
    March 17, 2025
  • Science Release
    NASA’s Webb Images Young, Giant Exoplanets, Detects Carbon Dioxide
    Read the release
  • Credit
    Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Laurent Pueyo (STScI), William Balmer (JHU), Marshall Perrin (STScI)

Downloads

  • Full Res (For Print), 718 × 718
    tif (245.84 KB)
  • Full Res (For Display), 718 × 718
    png (288.9 KB)
This image shows the planetary system HR 8799. The background is black. At the center there is a symbol representing a star labeled HR 8799. The star’s light is blocked. There are four exoplanets, which look like fuzzy dots, pictured surrounding the star. Furthest from the star is a fuzzy, faint blue dot, labeled b, at the 10 o’clock position. At the 1 o’clock position, second furthest from the star is a blueish-white fuzzy dot labeled c. Just below that is an orange dot labeled e. At the 4 o’clock position, still near the star, is another fuzzy white dot labeled d.
Color Info
Color InfoA brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented.

This image is a composite of separate exposures acquired by the James Webb Space Telescope using the NIRCam instrument. Several filters were used to sample medium wavelength ranges. The color results from assigning different hues (colors) to each monochromatic (grayscale) image associated with an individual filter. In this case, the assigned colors are:    Blue= F410M, Green= F430M, Red= F460M

Related Images & Videos

This image shows the exoplanet 51 Eri b. The image is mostly black, with very faint residual red dots apparent in the central region of the image. At the center of the image, there is a symbol representing a star labeled 51 Eri. This star blocks the light from the host star. To the left of the circle is a fuzzy bright red circle, which is the exoplanet, labeled b.

51 Eridani (NIRCam Image)

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) captured this image of Eridani 51 b, a cool, young exoplanet that orbits 890 million miles from its star, similar to Saturn’s orbit in our solar system. The observations detected the planet is rich in carbon...

Graphic titled “Exoplanet HR 8799 e: Carbon Dioxide in Gas Giant Exoplanet” has three data points with error bars and a best-fit model for low metal content and high metal content on a graph of Amount of Light from the Planet on the y-axis versus Wavelength of Light in microns on x-axis. Y-axis ranges from less light at bottom to more light at top. X-axis ranges from 3.6 to 5.0 microns. Webb NIRCam data consists of 3 points, plotted in red, with white error bars above and below each point. The best-fit models are jagged blue and yellow lines with several broad peaks and valleys. Two features are labeled with vertical columns. From 4.3 microns to nearly 4.4 microns, a green column is labeled Carbon Dioxide CO2. From nearly 4.4 microns to nearly 4.8 microns, a red column is labeled Carbon Monoxide CO2.

Young Gas Giant HR 8799 e (NIRCam Spectrum)

This graph shows a spectrum of one of the planets in the HR 8799 system, HR 8799 e, which displays the amounts of near-infrared light detected from the planet by Webb at different wavelengths. The blue and yellow lines are a best-fit model for an atmosphere that would be either...

Share

Details

Last Updated
Aug 28, 2025
Contact
Media

Laura Betz
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
laura.e.betz@nasa.gov

Image Credit

NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Laurent Pueyo (STScI), William Balmer (JHU), Marshall Perrin (STScI)

Related Terms

Keep Exploring

Discover More Topics From NASA

James Webb Space Telescope

Space Telescope

Science Overview

Webb Observatory

Webb Image Galleries