Webb telescope finds first clear evidence of 'vapor world'

Of the 5,700 confirmed Extraterrestrials Astronomers have discovered them outside the solar system and are considered Ice worlds And Water worldsBut what about Steam World?

Well, they did. Scientists use The James Webb Space TelescopeA joint NASA And its European and Canadian counterparts have indeed discovered a Xana-like planet in the constellation Pisces, 100 light-years from Earth. Some called it the first direct evidence of a planet frozen in moist heat.

This humid exoplanet GJ 9827 T is twice the size of Earth and has an atmosphere made almost entirely of water vapor, according to a new study. Before this, only such worlds were thought to exist Space.

“It was a very surreal moment,” said Eshan Raul, who contributed to the research while an undergraduate student at the University of Michigan. A statement. “We were specifically looking for water worlds because it was hypothesized that they might exist. If these things are true, it really makes you wonder what else there is.”

Such a vaporous world is thought to have a dense water-rich atmosphere, with no surface ice or flowing water. This is how scientists envision Jupiter's icy moons Europe And GanymedeIt's like they're moving around the sun Instead of the far reaches of the solar system.

GJ 9827 d, a rock Super EarthIt is so close to its host star that its surface temperature is estimated at 660 degrees Fahrenheit. By comparison, Earth's average surface temperature is 59 degrees Fahrenheit. Because of the exoplanet's high temperature, its atmosphere may be a gaseous mixture without clouds or distinct layers.

Scientists have found signs of hydrogen-rich atmospheres around many worlds, but they all go around. Gas giant planetssuch as Thursday. The hunt for a more terrestrial world surrounded by a protective atmosphere of heavy elements has eluded astronomers, although the web has helped scientists find reasonable challenges. 55 Cangiri E, GJ 486 bAnd LHS 1140 b.

This is the first confirmed case of an extraterrestrial atmosphere that is not hydrogen-dominated, said Caroline Bialet-Korayeb, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Montreal. New PaperPublished by Piaulet-Ghorayeb Astrophysical Journal Letters Last week.

Since the Web opened up for business, researchers have used a technique often called Transmission Spectroscopy To study extraterrestrials. As these worlds pass in front of their host star, starlight is filtered into their atmospheres. Molecules in the atmosphere absorb certain wavelengths, or colors, of light, so by breaking the light into its constituent parts – like a rainbow – astronomers can determine which parts of the light are missing to trace the molecular structure of the atmosphere.

In conjunction with Hubble Space Telescope observations conducted earlier this year, the researchers used the new Web data to confirm the water vapor composition. A common problem with such studies is the potential for variation based on signals Star activity – Sunspots etc. After careful analysis, the teams were able to rule out the possibility of corrupted data due to stellar contamination.

Researchers will continue to study GJ 9827T, the first confirmed “vapor world,” using the James Webb Space Telescope.
Credit: NASA GSFC / CIL / Adriana Manrique Gutierrez Illustration

Although the planet may not be habitable for most species known to humans on Earth, the success of finding a terrestrial world with a watery atmosphere means scientists are getting ever closer to discovering moderately hospitable worlds.

Web scientists are about to begin A large study of rocky worlds Look for planets outside the solar system, especially those orbiting near red dwarf stars – the most massive star in the Milky Way – that may have winds. The program, first reported by Mashable , has already been selected The first two of about a dozen target planets Must read.

“Now we're finally pushing these mysterious worlds between Earth and Neptune in size, for which there is no example in our own solar system, to have actually been created,” co-author Ryan MacDonald said in a statement. “This is an important proving step for finding atmospheres on habitable exoplanets in the years to come.”