Joanna Thompson is a science journalist and runner based in New York. She holds a B.S. in Zoology and a B.A. in Creative Writing from North Carolina State University, as well as a Master's in Science Journalism from NYU's Science, Health and Environmental Reporting Program.
Can a"Hell Planet" have an atmosphere? In a new paper published May 8 in the journal Nature, researchers using the James Webb Space Telescope may have finally cracked this decades-old exoplanetary mystery — and, in doing so, detected the best evidence of an atmosphere around a rocky world outside our solar system.
Ever since 55 Cancri e was discovered in 2004, scientists have been puzzling over various aspects of its existence: its orbital period, its density, and most of all, its atmosphere. Initially, researchers weren't sure whether the exoplanet could even support an atmosphere; some believed it was simply too hot and too close to its star. But new evidence from JWST suggests that 55 Cancri e is indeed blanketed with a layer of gas — albeit an unusual one.
"Instead, the MIRI data showed a relatively low temperature of about 2,800 degrees Fahrenheit ," lead study author Renyu Hu, an astronomer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said in a statement. This reading indicates that something — likely an atmospheric current — was moving heat from the day side to the night side of the planet.Next, Hu's team used the near-infrared camera instrument to determine what elements might be present in this suspected atmosphere.
By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.related stories—James Webb telescope finds origins of the biggest explosion since the Big Bang — revealing a new cosmological mystery—James Webb telescope discovers oldest black hole in the universe
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