Webb telescope reveals structure of first asteroid belt found beyond our solar system

Astronomers used the powerful James Webb Space Telescope to closely image the first asteroid belt discovered beyond our solar system, which surrounds a nearby young, hot star called Fomalhaut. 

The dusty belts encircle Fomalhaut, which can be seen as the brightest star in the southern constellation Piscis Austrinus.

The ring structure that surrounds Fomalhaut was discovered in 1983 by NASA’s Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS). Since then, astronomers have attempted to study this ring system using various ground and space-based telescopes, including Hubble and Spitzer Space Telescope,…