‘Super-Earth’ Planet Shows Signs It Could Have an Atmosphere
The finding could make LHS 1140 b the first Earth-like world in a habitable zone with a confirmed atmosphere, researchers said.
- Astronomers detected helium leaking from the rocky exoplanet LHS 1140 b during a September 2024 transit, potentially marking the first atmosphere discovered on a rocky planet in a star's habitable zone.
- Located roughly 50 light-years from Earth, the rocky super-Earth LHS 1140 b orbits within the 'Goldilocks zone,' where surface temperatures could support liquid water.
- Lead author Collin Cherubim and his team used the Magellan Clay Telescope in Chile with a highly sensitive spectrograph called WINERED to analyze light filtering through the planet's atmosphere.
- In a 2025 follow-up observation, Cherubim and his team no longer detected helium. Cherubim admitted, "That's a big mystery right now that we" are investigating the variability in gas escape.
- Researchers will start new observations this fall, while the James Webb Space Telescope is expected to search for molecules like carbon dioxide, further evaluating the planet's potential for extraterrestrial life.
38 Articles
38 Articles
Astronomers just found the first atmosphere on a rocky exoplanet in the habitable zone
Astronomers have detected helium leaking from a rocky exoplanet, a sign that the planet may have an atmosphere. If confirmed, the finding represents the first such detection around an Earth-like world in its host star’s habitable zone, a groundbreaking discovery in the ongoing search for life on other planets. The rocky super-Earth LHS 1140 bContinue reading "Astronomers just found the first atmosphere on a rocky exoplanet in the habitable zone"…
NASA is developing a new interferometer concept that could allow the capture of images of exoplanets, revealing details of their surfaces, such as continents and oceans. The project aims to overcome the technical challenges that prevent direct observation of these distant worlds. New interferometer concept for exoplanets The innovative concept, led by physicist Paul Stankus, uses an interferometer called "dynamic hierarchical nulling." This tech…
James Webb has just laid down one of the most settled certainties of modern astronomy. For years it was assumed that a rocky planet attached to its star could not preserve atmosphere: the radiation will be removed in a short time. Well, the telescope has found just that where no one expected it. The protagonist is TOI-561 b, a superland so hot that its surface is an ocean of magma in permanent boiling. The data points to a real gas envelope, not…
SCoRE: The Surface Composition Of Rocky Exoplanets
[astro-ph.EP] Context. The crust composition of rocky exoplanets with a substantial atmosphere can not be observed directly. However, recent developments are starting to allow for the observation and characterisation of […] The post SCoRE: The Surface Composition Of Rocky Exoplanets appeared first on Astrobiology.
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