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Exoplanet 29 Cygni b (NIRCam Image)

A black square labeled “29 Cyg” at upper right. In the middle, a white star symbol is surrounded by a small blue trapezoid that widens from upper left to lower right of the star. The star is labeled with a capital A. The trapezoid indicates where the star’s light has been blocked by a coronagraph. To the star’s left beyond the blue trapezoid at 8 o’clock is a fuzzy white blob labeled with a lower-case b.

Astronomers used NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to directly image 29 Cygni b, which weighs 15 times Jupiter. They found evidence for heavy chemical elements like carbon and oxygen, which strongly suggests it formed like a planet by accretion within a protoplanetary disk, and not like a star through fragmentation.

Webb’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) was used in its coronagraphic mode, in which a wedge (indicated by the blue box) is used to block the light of the host star (labeled A and marked with a star symbol) to reveal the planet. This image combines light from three filters between 4 and 5 microns. The planet is brightest in the blue filter, then green, then red, so it appears as an off-white dot in the color composite. If carbon dioxide weren’t present, the planet would appear noticeably redder.

In this image, the color blue is assigned to 4.1 micron light, green to 4.3 micron light, and red to 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.
    20:14:32.2
  • Dec. Position
    Dec. PositionDeclination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position.
    +36:48:24.5
  • Constellation
    ConstellationOne of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears.
    Cygnus
  • 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 133 light-years

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.

    The Webb observations include those from program: 6095 (W. Balmer).

  • Instrument
    InstrumentThe science instrument used to produce the data.
    NIRCam> coronagraph mode
  • Exposure Dates
    Exposure DatesThe date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time.
    01 Sept 2025
  • 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.
    29 Cygni b
  • Object Description
    Object DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.
    Exoplanet
  • Release Date
    April 14, 2026
  • Science Release
    NASA’s Webb Redefines Dividing Line Between Planets, Stars
    Read the release
  • Credit
    Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, William Balmer (JHU, STScI), Laurent Pueyo (STScI); Image Processing: Alyssa Pagan (STScI)

Downloads

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A black square labeled “29 Cyg” at upper right. In the middle, a white star symbol is surrounded by a small blue trapezoid that widens from upper left to lower right of the star. The star is labeled with a capital A. The trapezoid indicates where the star’s light has been blocked by a coronagraph. To the star’s left beyond the blue trapezoid at 8 o’clock is a fuzzy white blob labeled with a lower-case b.
Color Info
Color InfoA brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented.

These images were acquired by the NIRCam instrument on the Webb Space Telescope. The color results from assigning different hues (colors) to a monochromatic (grayscale) image. In this case, the assigned colors are: Webb> Blue: F410M, Green: F430M, Red: F460M

Related Images & Videos

At left, an illustration shows a gas giant exoplanet whose right half is illuminated while the left half is in shadow. It is mostly orange shading to pinks and purples at the two poles and shows swirling bands of clouds. Three dark splotches on its upper right show locations where comet fragments impacted the cloudtops, and another incoming comet fragment is seen as a bright spot against the nightside. The planet is against a black background speckled with stars. In the upper right corner of the image shines a small white blob representing its host star. A faint edge-on disk of dust extending from 10 ou2019clock to 4 ou2019clock on the star is also white. The words u201cArtistu2019s Conceptu201d are at lower left.

Exoplanet 29 Cygni b (Artist's Concept)

Exoplanet 29 Cygni b, seen in this artist’s concept, is a gas giant weighing about 15 times the mass of Jupiter. Astronomers studied 29 Cygni b with NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. They determined that it likely formed from accretion rather than disk fragmentation.

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Details

Last Updated
Apr 14, 2026
Location
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Contact
Media

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

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