NASA's Webb Telescope Makes its First Exoplanet Discovery, a Rocky Planet Similar in Size to Earth
upstart writes:
The James Webb Space Telescope has assailed yet another impressive exploration milestone. Using data collected from Webb's Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec), scientists have confirmed its first exoplanet discovery. Located in the constellation Octans, the exoplanet system discovered by the Webb telescope is nearly 41 light-years away.
[...] The planet is a few hundred degrees hotter than the Earth and completes an orbit around its red dwarf star in just two days. The close proximity with its natural sun would ideally mean an atmosphere won't be possible on the rocky planet, but there's still a small chance because the star is only half as hot as our own sun.
[...] For now, the team is looking at multiple scenarios regarding atmospheric presence on LHS 475 b. The only certainty is that this exoplanet can't possibly maintain a dense atmosphere akin to the methane-heavy conditions on Titan, one of Saturn's natural satellites. What they are certain about is the fact this is just the start of exoplanet discoveries made using the Webb telescope, especially those covering Earth-like planets beyond our solar system.
A lot more detail over at NASA
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