new planet the size of earth discovered

The James Webb Space Telescope (NASA) has discovered its first planet – and this new rocky world is similar in size to our Earth.

Formally, the new planet is classified as LHS 475 b. Its diameter is 99 percent that of the Earth, and although it is terrestrial, scientists do not yet know if it has an atmosphere.

Although scientists cannot now draw any firm conclusions, they have ruled out a dense methane-dominated atmosphere similar to that of Saturn’s moon Titan.

JWST has shown that the planet, which is 41 light-years away, is much warmer than Earth and orbits in two days.

Such exoplanets have previously remained “invisible” to space telescopes, but not to the powerful JWST.

Mark Clampin, director of astrophysics at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC: “The first results of observations of a new, Earth-sized rocky planet open the door to many possibilities for studying planetary atmospheres.”

While this discovery is startling, scientists are now working to determine what the planet’s atmosphere is made of. The team of scientists note that while the planet may not have an atmosphere, some atmospheric compositions, such as a pure carbon dioxide atmosphere, are not ruled out.

Jacob Lustig-Jaeger, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory: “Contrary to common sense, a 100 percent carbon dioxide atmosphere is so compact that it becomes very difficult to detect.”

Scientists need even more precise measurements to distinguish an atmosphere with pure carbon dioxide from no atmosphere at all. They plan to obtain additional spectra during the upcoming observations this summer.

The researchers’ findings opened up the possibility of pinpointing Earth-sized planets orbiting a smaller number of so-called red dwarfs.

Scientists do not yet know what the atmosphere of the new planet consists of, but the JWST instrument has the ability to find out.

Last November, NASA announced that the telescope had successfully uncovered the composition of an exoplanet’s atmosphere in never-before-seen detail, an achievement that suggests it could also be searching for alien life.

These instruments recorded atoms and molecules, as well as signs of active chemistry and clouds – objects that the previous Hubble and Spitzer could not detect.

Astronomers used WASP-39b, a hot Saturn located 700 light-years from Earth, to test the telescope’s capabilities. The telescope used its infrared capabilities to capture colors and chemical fingerprints that cannot be detected in visible light.

All of this new data is already a “game changer” and could show how the new exoplanet formed from a disk of gas and dust that surrounded the parent star in its young years.

WASP-39b orbits a host star that is eight times closer than Mercury to our sun, which astronomers say should lead to a better understanding of how such processes affect the variety of planets observed in the galaxy. To unlock the secrets, JWST tracked the planet as it passed in front of its star, allowing some of its light to filter through its atmosphere.

“Different types of chemicals in the atmosphere absorb different colors of the starlight spectrum, so the missing colors tell astronomers which molecules are present,” NASA said in a statement this Tuesday.

The telescope also detected a number of elements including sodium, potassium and water vapor (H2O) in the new planet’s atmosphere. They confirm what was previously recorded by observations from space and ground telescopes, but JWST found additional water footprints at longer wavelengths. Carbon dioxide was also detected.

Christina DENISYUK.

Photo: NASA, ESA, CSA, L. Hustak (STScl)