Fifteen-year-old Ethan Banger creates tournament landmark with first-ever Hole-in-One at Tommy Fleetwood International Pathway Series presented by DP World
sports46 minutes ago
The James Webb Space Telescope has added another major scientific discovery to its growing list — detecting signs of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of a planet outside our solar system (exoplanet), for the first time.
Although the exoplanet would never be able to support life as we know it, the successful discovery of CO₂ gives researchers hope that similar observations could be carried out on rocky objects more hospitable to life.
"My first thought: wow, we really do have a chance to detect the atmospheres of terrestrial-size planets," tweeted Natalie Batalha, a professor at the University of California at Santa Cruz (UCSC), and one of hundreds who worked on the Webb project.
Their study of exoplanet WASP-39 — a hot gas giant closely orbiting a star 700 light years away — will soon be published in the journal Nature.
"For me, it opens a door for future research on super-Earths [planets larger than Earth but smaller than Neptune], or even Earth-sized planets," said Pierre-Olivier Lagage, an astrophysicist with France's Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), to AFP.
The detection of CO₂ will also help scientists learn more about how WASP-39 formed, Nasa said, in a press release. The exoplanet, which orbits its star once every four Earth days, has a mass one-quarter that of Jupiter, but a diameter 1.3 times bigger.
The frequency of its orbit and large atmosphere made WASP-39 an ideal candidate for an early test of Webb's state-of-the-art infrared sensor, known as NIRSpec.
Each time the exoplanet crosses in front of its star, it blocks out an almost imperceptible amount of light, but around the edges of the planet, a tiny amount of light passes through the atmosphere.
Webb's highly sensitive NIRSpec can detect the small changes that the atmosphere has on the light, allowing scientists to determine its gas composition.
The Hubble and Spitzer telescopes had already detected water vapour, sodium and potassium in WASP-39's atmosphere, but carbon dioxide can now be added to that list thanks to Webb and its NIRSpec instrument.
"It was a special moment, crossing an important threshold in exoplanet sciences," said Zafar Rustamkulov, a Johns Hopkins University researcher, in the Nasa press release.
ALSO READ:
Fifteen-year-old Ethan Banger creates tournament landmark with first-ever Hole-in-One at Tommy Fleetwood International Pathway Series presented by DP World
sports46 minutes ago
Otaegui hopes to win an Olympic medal for the UAE
golf48 minutes ago
The awards ceremony was held on November 22 at Expo City Dubai
mental health53 minutes ago
The authority has asked motorists to be extra cautious
transport1 hour ago
The champion skater is the brand ambassador of Aljada Skate Park, the region's largest and most innovative skate park
entertainment1 hour ago
Truong My Lan was convicted of embezzling money from Saigon Commercial Bank and condemned to die for fraud totalling $27 billion
asia1 hour ago
India's 295-run victory was sealed inside four days at Perth Stadium on Monday, shattering Australian confidence
sports1 hour ago
A maximum of Dh10 hike will be rolled out, depending on one's subscription
uae1 hour ago