During a brisk winter’s evening, it may feel cold. However, this is nothing like the exoplanet recently surveyed by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). A distant white dwarf star is currently playing host to the exoplanet WD 1856+534 b. According to the University of Michigan (UoM) study, WD 1856+534 d is the first to exceed temperatures less than 200K. Meaning, it’s now the coldest exoplanet ever observed – only 81 light years from Earth. 

The study was published on ARXIV.

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Why is WD 1856+534 b Exoplanet So Cold?

Due to the exoplanet’s proximity, and the fact that it orbits a white dwarf star, it’s not like here on Earth. The Sun heats the Earth, but due to white dwarfs containing little nuclear fuel (and the fact its remaining heat is shot into space) there’s little to help warm the chilly exoplanet. As a result, WD 1856+534 b has very frigid temperatures.

To read the exoplanet’s temperature, JWST’s Mid-Infrared Instrument measured WD 1856+534 b’s mid-infrared emissions. This was in addition to the white dwarf star itself. Upon studying the data that was acquired from the detected light, this is when the penny dropped. WD 1856+534 b is in fact the coldest exoplanet known to humankind. 

What Else Did UoM Detect About The Exo-Planet?

That is, the area of the white dwarf star that could envelop a planet during the red giant phase, UoM said. But what’s unique about WD 1856+534 b is that it’s the first “intact exoplanet” detected to be within this region. 

Equally, its size is a wonder in itself. WD 1856+534 b is around the size of Jupiter. However, its mass is “no more than six times that of Jupiter,” UoM asserted. Additionally, WD 1856+534 b has proven that planets can, in actuality, “migrate into and remain intact in close orbits near the habitable zone of WDs,” UoM concluded.