[ReadingScience] This Is the Overwhelming Performance of the Web Telescope

Difficult-to-Detect Earth-Like Exoplanet Discovered with Only Two Observations

Alien planet. Not related to the article. Photo by NASA.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] NASA is accelerating the search for extraterrestrial life by using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), which boasts overwhelming performance, to discover an Earth-like exoplanet for the first time.

On the 12th (Eastern Time, USA), NASA announced that it had used JWST to find an Earth-sized exoplanet for the first time and confirmed the presence of an atmosphere. The research team from the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, which conducted this study, announced these results at a press conference hosted by the American Astronomical Society (AAS) the day before.

The team examined 'LHS475 b,' selected as a candidate Earth-like exoplanet based on observations from NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), using JWST's Near Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec). The results confirmed that with only two observations, JWST verified that 'LHS475 b' orbits its star like Earth and is a small rocky planet about 99% the size of Earth.

Near-infrared spectrometer analysis results of the exoplanet 'LHS475 b'. Photo by NASA website

Using JWST's high-performance spectrometer, the team analyzed the wavelengths of light passing through the planet to determine the presence of an atmosphere. The results showed that the planet does not have a thick atmosphere filled with methane gas like Saturn’s moon Titan. Although precise analysis is not yet complete, the team explained that there is a possibility that no atmosphere exists at all, or if it does, it likely contains only very small gases such as pure carbon dioxide, which are difficult to detect.

The planet is several hundred degrees warmer than Earth, and if clouds exist, it could be similar to Venus. Venus also has an atmosphere composed of carbon dioxide and is always covered by thick clouds. Additionally, the planet completes an orbit in just two days, meaning it is closer to its star than any planet in our solar system. The temperature of the central red dwarf star is estimated to be about half that of our Sun (surface temperature approximately 6000 degrees). It is located 41 light-years away in the constellation Octans near the celestial south pole.

Mark Clampin, NASA’s Astrophysics Division Director, said, "This research opens the door to full-scale atmospheric studies of rocky planets using the Webb telescope for the search for extraterrestrial life. Thanks to the Webb telescope, we can better understand Earth-like worlds beyond our solar system, and the full-scale research has only just begun."