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James Webb telescope discovers mysterious water vapor around exoplanets

2023-05-07T01:47:48.596Z


Using the James Webb Space Telescope, a research team discovers water vapor around an exoplanet. Does the rocky planet have an atmosphere?


Using the James Webb Space Telescope, a research team discovers water vapor around an exoplanet.

Does the rocky planet have an atmosphere?

Baltimore -- The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) looks deep into the universe, using its infrared vision to discover things other telescopes before it couldn't see.

The latest find from the $10 billion telescope: JWST has detected water vapor around a rocky planet.

The exoplanet, called GJ 486 b, is located 26 light-years from Earth and orbits a red dwarf star once every 1.5 days.

In fact, the exoplanet is too close to its star to be in the habitable zone — the region where liquid water is possible on the planet's surface.

Its surface is a scalding 430 degrees Celsius, so the planet is too hot to be habitable.

Still, the "Webb" observation suggests there may be water vapor there -- a possible clue to an atmosphere surrounding the planet.

James Webb telescope finds water vapor - an indication of an atmosphere?

Outside of our solar system, water vapor has so far only been found on gas planets.

If researchers can prove that water vapor actually exists around GJ 486 b, that would be an important discovery.

After all, they could prove that the planet is similar to Earth and Mars in many ways.

"Water vapor in an atmosphere around a hot rocky planet would be a major breakthrough for exoplanet research," explains Kevin Stevenson, who works on the "Webb" telescope.

However, he also emphasizes: "We have to be careful and make sure that the star is not the culprit."

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Artist's impression: Exoplanet GJ 486 b orbits a red dwarf star.

© NASA, ESA, CSA, Joseph Olmsted (STScI), Leah Hustak (STScI)

What the scientist means: Researchers know that water vapor occurs in the cooler sunspots on our sun.

Because the red dwarf star orbiting GJ 486 b is cooler than our Sun, there could be even more water vapor in the sunspots there - and such a signal in the "Webb" data could be misinterpreted as water vapor surrounding the planet.

Signal suggests water around exoplanet GJ 486 b

"We're seeing a signal, and it's almost certainly due to water.

But we can't yet tell if this water is part of the planet's atmosphere, meaning the planet has an atmosphere, or if we're just seeing a water signature coming from the star," Sarah Moran (University of Arizona) said in a statement .

Moran is lead author of a study on the find that has been accepted for publication in

The Astrophysical Journal Letters

.

Moran's research team observed two so-called "transits" of the exoplanet with the "Webb" telescope: The exoplanet passes in front of its star, the light from the star is filtered through the planet's atmosphere and can reveal the components of the atmosphere.

"We haven't seen any evidence that the planet has crossed starspots during its transits," says Ryan MacDonald (University of Michigan), emphasizing: "But that doesn't mean that there aren't spots elsewhere on the star." Exactly The researcher knows that this scenario could have caused the water signature to get into the planet's data.

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James Webb telescope to provide more information about exoplanets

So is the discovery of water vapor actually an indication of an atmosphere on the exoplanet?

Research assumes that an atmosphere around a hot planet like GJ 486 b would have to be constantly replenished - for example by steam from volcanoes.

To find out more about the potential atmosphere around the exoplanet, "Webb" is to examine the celestial body again.

"By combining several instruments, it will be possible to determine whether this planet has an atmosphere or not," explains Stevenson.

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Rubric list image: © NASA, ESA, CSA, Joseph Olmsted (STScI), Leah Hustak (STScI)

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2023-05-07

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