The first conclusive evidence of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of a planet outside the solar system has been detected by NASA’s James Webb Telescope. Significant new information on the composition and origin of the planet is provided by this observation of a gas giant planet orbiting a star 700 light-years away that resembles the Sun. The discovery, which is set to appear in Nature, provides proof that Webb might eventually be able to identify and quantify carbon dioxide in the thinner atmospheres of smaller rocky planets.
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NASA’s James Webb Telescope’s other discoveries :
Certainly! James Webb Telescope has made some fascinating discoveries related to carbon dioxide in various contexts:
- Exoplanet Atmospheres:
- Carbon dioxide was found in the atmosphere of a planet outside of our solar system by the James Webb Space Telescope. In particular, it saw a gas giant planet 700 light-years away circling a star that resembled the Sun. This discovery offers important new information about the makeup and formation of exoplanets. The planet in question is WASP-39 b, a hot, puffy gas giant with a diameter 1.3 times larger than Jupiter and a mass of about 0.28 times that of Jupiter. It travels 4,500,000 miles (0.0486 astronomical units) around its star, and because of this close orbit, it probably gets quite hot. In addition to earlier findings of carbon dioxide in Webb’s atmosphere, the Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) measurements provided clear evidence of water vapor, sodium, and potassium. Although it may lack atmospheric bands like Jupiter and Saturn, WASP-39 b likely experiences weather and cloud formations.
- Hycean Exoplanets:
- An other noteworthy finding concerns K2-18 b, an exoplanet with a mass roughly 8.6 times that of Earth. Methane and carbon dioxide, among other carbon-bearing compounds, were found by Webb’s research. K2-18 b is 120 light-years away from Earth and circles a cold dwarf star in the habitable zone. On this fascinating exoplanet, the amount of methane and carbon dioxide combined with the lack of ammonia raises the potential of a water ocean beneath a hydrogen-rich atmosphere. It’s also possible, according to some astronomers, that K2-18 b is a hycean exoplanet, which makes it a fascinating target to investigate for possible extrasolar habitats.
- Jupiter’s Moon Europa:
- Carbon dioxide was also detected by Webb’s data on the icy surface of Europa, Jupiter’s moon. The carbon on Europa most likely came from its subterranean ocean rather than from outside sources like meteorites, in contrast to Earth, where carbon dioxide is widely distributed in the atmosphere. This finding clarifies the geological processes on the moon and offers important data for further investigation.
In conclusion, the James Webb Telescope is revealing new information about carbon dioxide in far-off planetary systems, which broadens our perspective of the universe.
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