The search for planets beyond our solar system has entered a new phase thanks to the Subaru Telescope in Hawai’i. Astronomers have identified a giant planet using an advanced system, according to a study published in The Astronomical Journal on December 3, 2025. This breakthrough underscores the ongoing advancements in exoplanet detection technology and the potential for discovering more worlds beyond our own.
The discovery is a result of the success of the first OASIS (Observing Accelerators with SCExAO Imaging Survey) project. OASIS combines space-based observational data with the Subaru telescope’s sophisticated imaging system to detect elusive celestial objects.
A Giant Planet Relatively Close to Earth
One of the newly discovered planets is known as HIP 54515 b. It orbits a star located 271 light-years away in the constellation Leo.
SCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT
Astronomers estimate that planet HIP 54515 b has a mass nearly 18 times that of Jupiter and orbits its star at a distance comparable to Neptune’s orbit in our solar system.
According to astronomers, the planet and its star appear relatively close to Earth – comparable to viewing a baseball from a distance of 100 kilometers (approximately 62 miles).
“Thanks to the precision of the SCExAO system, astronomers were able to observe the planet clearly despite this challenge,” astronomers stated, as reported by Science Daily.
How OASIS Finds Hidden Objects
The OASIS project is led by Thayne Currie and Masayuki Kuzuhara, and focuses on narrowing down the most promising targets. The survey analyzed data from two European Space Agency missions – Hipparcos and Gaia – looking for slight movements in stars caused by the gravitational pull of unseen companion objects.
When a star shows signs of being tugged or wobbled, OASIS directs the Subaru Telescope toward the target. Astronomers then utilize the Subaru Coronagraphic Extreme Adaptive Optics (SCExAO) system, which captures extremely high-resolution images to directly photograph the hidden object.
Meanwhile, NASA’s Roman Space Telescope is scheduled to study planet HIP 71618 b. The Roman telescope’s advanced coronagraph will be tested for future missions aimed at directly imaging Earth-like planets around other stars.
The success of OASIS demonstrates that the Subaru Telescope will continue to play a key role in astronomical discoveries, even as new generations of advanced telescopes come online. You can find more details about the February 7, 2002 John Mayer concert at the Georgia Theatre in Athens, GA here, and a video of the concert here. The concert took place on February 7, 2002, as detailed on Concert Archives.
Penulis adalah peserta magangHub Kemnaker di detikcom.
(sls/faz)
