![JWST MIRI images of the HD 101452 system before and after PSF subtraction. The top row shows 100×100 pixel cutouts of the MIRI images centered on HD 101452 prior to PSF subtraction. The bottom row shows the corresponding PSF-subtracted images. All panels use a common surface brightness scale (-5 to 50 MJy/sr). The companion is detected in all filters at a consistent location with a measured separation of r = 1.276±0.004′′ and position angle θ = 84.3±0.2 ◦ East of North at the time of observation. -- [astro-ph.EP]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/A-Binary-Flux.png?fit=1200%2C680&ssl=1)
[astro-ph.EP] We report the direct imaging detection of a stellar companion to HD 101452 (HIP 56925; Gaia DR3 5384905720847544192), an A star historically used as an infrared flux calibrator.
The companion was identified from an asymmetry in the stellar PSF using short-integration (<1 min), noncoronagraphic JWST MIRI imaging from 15 – 25.5μm that was obtained as part of the absolute flux calibration program CAL 4496.
We detect the stellar companion in four MIRI imaging filters at a projected separation of 1.3 arcsec with a mid-infrared flux ratio of approximately 27× warranting its removal from the ensemble of JWST flux calibrator systems. This detection also demonstrates that noncoronagraphic MIRI imaging can recover companions at separations below 3λ/D when a reference star with a closely matched flux level to the science target is available.
Using the measured contrast curves from the calibration data, we evaluate the predicted sensitivity achievable with similar short MIRI observations for nearby stars (<30 pc) that are of interest to the direct-imaging community with comparable brightness to HD 101452 (W4 ~ 6.8 mag).
We find that integrations of only 17-42 s are be capable of detecting sub-Jupiter-mass planets at solar system-like separations around a subset of neighboring systems if the PSF subtraction is conducted with closely flux-matched references. These results demonstrate that minutes-length, noncoronagraphic MIRI observations can provide a powerful and efficient new avenue for exploring the cold giant planet population around nearby stars.
Rachel Bowens-Rubin, Mary Anne Limbach, Alexander Venner, Kyle Franson, Emily K. Pass, Andrew Vanderburg, Kevin B. Stevenson, Logan Pearce, Taylor L. Tobin, Elisabeth Matthews, Aiza Kenzhebekova, Beth Biller, Ben J. Sutlieff, Klaus Subbotina Stephenson
Comments: 12 pages, 4 figures, 1 table; ApJL
Subjects: Earth and Planetary Astrophysics (astro-ph.EP); Solar and Stellar Astrophysics (astro-ph.SR)
Cite as: arXiv:2609.19133 [astro-ph.EP] (or arXiv:2609.19133v2 [astro-ph.EP] for this version)
https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2609.19133
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Submission history
From: Rachel Bowens-Rubin
[v1] Wed, 16 Sep 2026 17:55:37 UTC (1,337 KB)
[v2] Thu, 17 Sep 2026 12:16:39 UTC (1,337 KB)
https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.19133
Astrobiology,
