Jakarta, CNNIndonesia —
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) discovers its first exoplanet that is nearly the size of Earth. Team member also revealed surprising facts about the temperature.
Research on the planet, named LHS 475 b, was led by Kevin Stevenson and Jacob Lustig-Yaeger of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland.
The two-led research team chose to observe LHS 475 b with the Webb telescope after closely reviewing the intriguing target of NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), which hinted at the planet’s presence.
Webb’s Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) technology is said to have captured the planet easily and clearly with just two transit observations.
“There is no doubt that the planet exists. Webb’s original data validates it,” said Lustig-Yaeger, as quoted by the website NASA.
“The fact that this planet is also small and rocky is very impressive for observatories,” said Stevenson.
Webb also revealed that this exoplanet has a temperature several hundred degrees hotter than Earth. Quoted from Engadgetresearchers say this planet has a temperature of about 300 degrees Celsius on its surface.
Thus, if clouds are detected on the planet, researchers can conclude that it is more like Venus, which has a carbon dioxide atmosphere and is constantly shrouded in thick clouds.
“We are at the forefront of studying small, rocky exoplanets,” said Lustig-Yaeger.
“We are only just beginning to scratch the surface of what their atmospheres are like,” he added.
In addition to high temperatures, researchers also say the planet completes its orbit in just two days.
Although LHS 475 b is closer to its star than any planet in our solar system, its red dwarf star is less than half the temperature of the Sun, so researchers think it could still have an atmosphere.
atmospheric conditions
Director of NASA’s Astrophysics Division, Washington, Mark Clampin said this research brings a lot of new knowledge to the study of the atmosphere with the Webb telescope.
“These first observations of an Earth-sized rocky planet open the door to many future possibilities for studying the atmospheres of rocky planets with Webb,” he said.
“Webb is bringing us ever closer to a new understanding of Earth-like worlds beyond our solar system, and its mission has only just begun,” he added.
Of all the telescopes currently in operation, only Webb has been able to reveal the character of the atmosphere of an Earth-sized exoplanet. The research team then attempted to assess what was in the planet’s atmosphere by analyzing its transmission spectrum.
While the data suggests this is a terrestrial planet the size of Earth, they don’t yet know if it has an atmosphere.
“The observatory data is excellent,” said Erin May of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.
“The telescope is so sensitive that it can easily detect various molecules, but we cannot yet make definite conclusions about a planet’s atmosphere,” he added.
Although the research team cannot conclude what is there, they are said to be able to say what is not possible on the planet.
“There are several types of terrestrial atmospheres that we can ignore,” explains Lustig-Yaeger.
“It could not have had a thick, methane-dominated atmosphere, similar to Titan, Saturn’s moon,” he continued.
The team also noted that although the planet may not have an atmosphere, there are some possible atmospheric compositions that have not been ruled out, such as an atmosphere of pure carbon dioxide.
“The atmosphere of 100 percent carbon dioxide is much denser so it is very difficult to detect,” said Lustig-Yaeger.
More precise measurements are needed for the team to distinguish a pure carbon dioxide atmosphere from a sky with no atmosphere at all. Researchers are scheduled to get additional spectra under observation next summer.
(lom/arh)
