James Webb Space Telescope makes sensational discovery on "coolest exoplanet" TRAPPIST-1 c | Tech News

James Webb Space Telescope makes sensational discovery on "coolest exoplanet" TRAPPIST-1 c

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope discovers that TRAPPIST-1 c is likely to have no atmosphere at all or a thin atmosphere.

By: HT TECH
| Updated on: Jun 26 2023, 17:24 IST
5 huge Asteroids approaching Earth, NASA warns
Atmospheric study on TRAPPIST-1 c was conducted by the James Webb Space Telescope
1/5 Asteroid 2023 MU2- The asteroid will make closest to the earth on 25th June, According to NASA, the asteroid is 16 feet wide. The asteroid is moving at a speed of 16266 kilometers per hour and it will get as close as 135,000 miles to Earth. (NASA)
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2/5 Asteroid 2023 MF1- This is a 120 feet wide asteroid, it will make its closest approach to Earth on 25th June. The asteroid is already rushing towards Earth at a speed of 63986 kilometers per hour and will pass the Earth at a distance of 1,200,000 miles. (NASA)
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3/5 Asteroid 2023 MD- This asteroid is 90 Feet wide and it will be the closest to the Earth on 25th June. It is traveling towards the Earth at a speed of 14825 kilometers per hour. It will come as close as 1,660,000 miles. (NASA)
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4/5 Asteroid 2023 ME1-  The close approach of Asteroid 2023 ME1, a celestial body comparable in size to an airplane that is 88 feet wide, is set to occur on June 26. Racing towards Earth at an impressive velocity of 43685 kilometers per hour, this asteroid will narrowly miss our planet, passing by at a distance of 3.03 million miles. (NASA)
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5/5 Asteroid 2023 MS2- On June 27th, the asteroid will come closest to Earth, as stated by NASA. Its width is reported to be 120 feet, and it is currently moving at a speed of 39770 kilometers per hour and will pass the Earth at a distance of 2,360,000 miles. (NASA)
Atmospheric study on TRAPPIST-1 c was conducted by the James Webb Space Telescope
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Atmospheric study on TRAPPIST-1 c was conducted by the James Webb Space Telescope (NASA)

Back in February 2017, researchers with the help of the Spitzer Space Telescope discovered a large batch of Earth-sized rocky exoplanets. Ever since then, researchers have been trying to study the atmosphere of TRAPPIST-1 c with the help of NASA's Jammes Webb Space Telescope.

Recently, researchers were successfully able to study the atmosphere of the rocky exoplanet and stated that it is the coolest exoplanet with a dayside temperature of about 225 degrees Fahrenheit based on thermal emission. However, researchers at NASA are unsure about its atmosphere due to its very thin layer of carbon dioxide. They believe that if the planet's atmosphere exists at all, it is extremely thin.

The finding represents a significant advancement to understand whether planets orbiting small red dwarf stars like the most common type star TRAPPIST-1 c, can sustain a thick atmosphere that is necessary to support life as we know it.

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“We want to know if rocky planets have atmospheres or not,” said Sebastian Zieba, a graduate student at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Germany. “In the past, we could only really study planets with thick, hydrogen-rich atmospheres. With Webb, we can finally start to search for atmospheres dominated by oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide.” Sebastian Zieba added.

On Webb's finding, it was stated that the TRAPPIST-1 c and Venus possess the same size and receive a similar amount of radiation from its host star as Venus gets from the Sun, therefore, it was believed that it might have some atmospheric properties as venus but no hard evidence was found after researching with MIRI (Webb's Mid-Infrared Instrument).

MIRI's measurement also did not provide any atmospheric information about the nature of TRAPPIST-1 c, “Our results are consistent with the planet being a bare rock with no atmosphere, or the planet having a really thin CO2 atmosphere (thinner than on Earth or even Mars) with no clouds,” said Zieba.

The study took a totally opposite approach as earlier it was believed that TRAPPIST-1 c be a Venus twin with a hot atmosphere planet and thick Carbon dioxide. Instead, it was found that it has barely any atmosphere.

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First Published Date: 26 Jun, 17:23 IST
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