Webb Finds a Hidden Atmosphere on a Molten Super-Earth

James Webb Detects Strongest Evidence Yet of an Atmosphere on a Rocky Exoplanet

An ultra-hot rocky exoplanet may be wrapped in a dense atmosphere, defying expectations about what small planets can sustain. Scientists working with NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope have found the clearest evidence so far that a rocky planet beyond our solar system has an atmosphere. Data from the ultra-hot super-Earth TOI-561 b indicate that the [...]

Scientists Find the Strongest Evidence Yet of an Atmosphere on a Molten Rocky Exoplanet

Researchers using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope have detected the strongest evidence yet for an atmosphere on a rocky planet outside our solar system. Observations of the ultra-hot super-Earth TOI-561 b suggest that the exoplanet is surrounded by a thick blanket of gases above a global magma ocean.

Webb finds a hidden atmosphere on a molten super-Earth

Webb’s latest observations reveal a hellish world cloaked in an unexpected atmosphere: TOI-561 b, an ultra-hot rocky planet racing around its star in under 11 hours. Despite being blasted by intense radiation that should strip it bare, the planet appears to host a thick layer of gases above a global magma ocean, making it far less dense than expected.

Research team discovers new atmosphere on rocky exoplanet

An international team of scientists, with access to NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, has found the strongest evidence to date of an atmosphere on a rocky planet.Thanks to the James Webb telescope, exoplanets can be discovered more frequently, revealing diverse worlds orbiting distant stars across our galaxy.Observations made outside our solar system reveal the existence of the ultra-hot super-Earth TOI-561 b. They suggest that the exoplanet is…

Webb Telescope Detects Atmosphere on Molten Super-Earth TOI-561 b

In a significant advancement for exoplanet science, the James Webb Space Telescope has provided the most compelling evidence to date of an atmosphere surrounding a rocky world. This monumental discovery concerns TOI-561 b, an ultra-hot super-Earth approximately 275 light-years from our solar system. TOI-561 b is characterized by its small size, about 1.4 times Earth’s radius, and its incredibly tight orbit around a Sun-like star, completing a fu…