James Webb's Sad Discovery About Earth-Like Planet Opens Up Avenues Of Finding Life
Space exploration is unpredictable. Often, with help from iconic pieces of technology like the James Webb Space Telescope, we're treated to stunning portraits of the universe. Other times, the space observatory can find an Earth-like planet... only to realise it has no atmosphere.
The rocky exoplanet that orbits a star known as TRAPPIST-1 doesn't have an atmosphere, the telescope has found. This finding kills the scope of this planet harbouring any type of life, something that the scientists had earlier suspected. Why, then, would they want to study it? The TRAPPIST-1 star system has six more Earth-like exoplanets that could possibly harbour conditions for life.
Why this finding is groundbreaking
Using James Webb Space Telescope's Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI), scientists measured the temperature of the exoplanet called TRAPPIST-1b, one of the seven planets that make up the star system. This atmosphere-less planet is the closest to its parent star in terms of orbit and is 1.4 times as large as our Earth.
The observation, in itself, marks a giant feat for the telescope. As the European Space Agency (ESA) put it, this represents the first time Webb has detected "any form of light" emitted by a rocky exoplanet. Thanks to Webb, we now know that the planet has a super hot temperature of 230 degree Celsius (446 F), implying that it most probably doesn't have an atmosphere.
Also read:?James Webb Space Telescope Finds Galaxies That Shouldn't Exist At All!
The distance between TRAPPIST-1b and its central star is 40 times less closer than the distance between our Sun and the innermost planet Mercury, Space.com reported.
The planet in question receives five times more sunlight than what Earth receives from the Sun, so astronomers were somewhat sure that it couldn't be habitable. Even then, the observation is a testimony to Webb's capabilities and opens avenues of further enquiry into similar worlds.
In the same star system, there are at least three planets - TRAPPIST-1e, 1f, and 1g that could have the right conditions for the existence of liquid surface water and in turn, conditions for hosting some sort of life.
Also read:?James Webb Space Telescope Captures A Gorgeous Merging Pair Of Galaxies
This star system is located 40 light-years away from our Sun, and is the most explored star system outside of our own, NASA claims. The findings from Webb's readings were published in the journal Nature on March 27, 2023.
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