JWST high-contrast imaging of the emblematic beta Pictoris system: a cat's tail in the disk and clouds in the planet atmosphere

The exoplanetary system around beta Pictoris is one of the most iconic and well-studied circumstellar environments to date. It comprises of the first ever directly imaged (debris) disk and two directly imaged super-Jovian gas giant planets orbiting the host star at ~3 and ~10 au, comparable to the orbital separations of the gas giants in our own Solar System. Here, we present the first JWST NIRCam and MIRI observations of the prominent debris disk, as well as direct images of the outer exoplanet beta Pictoris b between 2 and 5 micron. The former reveal hints of a recent collision through the presence of an extended secondary disk in thermal emission never seen before. The most conspicuous feature is a trail of material, a "cat's tail" that bends away from the disk. The connection of this new feature with the main disk is co-located with the previously reported CO clump, which further reinforces the collisional scenario. We present a model of this secondary disk, sporadically producing dust that broadly reproduces the morphology, flux, and color of the cat's tail and suggests that the secondary disk is comprised largely of porous, organic, and refractory dust grains. The new images of the planet beta Pictoris b provide a view on its atmosphere at wavelengths inaccessible from the ground and agree well with predictions from models assuming a thick and cloudy atmosphere. JWST high-contrast imaging heralds a new era for studying the thermal emission of circumstellar disks and for the characterization of clouds and disequilibrium chemistry on fainter planets, which cannot be detected from the ground at 3-5 micron.