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51 Eridani (NIRCam Image)

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.

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 dioxide, providing strong evidence that the planet formed much like Jupiter and Saturn, by slowly building a solid core that attracted gas from within a protoplanetary disk.

The 51 Eridani system is 97 light-years from Earth. This image includes filters representing 4.1-micron light as red.

About the Object

  • R.A. Position
    R.A. PositionRight ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position.
    04:37:36.204
  • Dec. Position
    Dec. PositionDeclination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position.
    -02:28:26.32
  • Constellation
    ConstellationOne of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears.
    Eridanus
  • 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 97 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 (M. E. Ressler). 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.
    20 February 2024
  • Filters
    FiltersThe camera filters that were used in the science observations.
    F410M
  • Object Name
    Object NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.
    Eri 51; Eridani 51
  • Object Description
    Object DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.
    Star with planet 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)

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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.
Color Info
Color InfoA brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented.

This image is acquired by the NIRCam instrument on the James Webb Space Telescope. The color results from assigning a warm/red color map to a monochromatic (grayscale) image.

Related Images & Videos

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.

HR 8799 (NIRCam Image)

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...

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...

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Details

Last Updated
Nov 14, 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)

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