The Webb Space Telescope has found no evidence of an atmosphere at one of the seven rocky, Earth-sized planets orbiting another star.
NASA, ESA, CSA, J. Olmsted , T. P. Greene , T. Bell , E. Ducrot , P. Lagage
“This is not necessarily a bust” for the other planets, Massachusetts Institute of Technology astrophysicist Sara Seager, who wasn't part of the study, said in an email. “But we will have to wait and see.” The lack of an atmosphere would mean no water and no protection from cosmic rays, said lead researcher Thomas Greene of NASA's Ames Research Center.
Because the Trappist system's innermost planet is bombarded by solar radiation — four times as much as Earth gets from our sun — it's possible that extra energy is why there's no atmosphere, Greene noted. His team found temperatures there hitting 450 degrees Fahrenheit on the side of the planet constantly facing its star.
More observations are planned not only of this planet, but the others in the Trappist system. Looking at this particular planet in another wavelength could uncover an atmosphere much thinner than our own, although it seems unlikely it could survive, said Taylor Bell of the Bay Area Environmental Research Institute, who was part of the study.
Launched in late 2021 to an observation post 1 million miles away, Webb is considered the successor to the Hubble Space Telescope, orbiting Earth for more than three decades.
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