On May 10, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced that the James Webb Space Telescope has observed an “unusually bright atmosphere” of an exoplanet. This marks the first time researchers have been able to observe this mysterious planet in such detail.
The planet is completely shrouded in a thick mist.
The planet, named GJ 1214 b, is located approximately 40 light-years away from Earth. According to NASA’s new findings, GJ 1214 b is too hot for oceans to exist, but the main component of its atmosphere is water vapor. In addition to standard observations, the research team approached this strange planet using a new method.
By monitoring GJ 1214 b as it orbits its star, the team was able to capture the star’s light passing through the planet’s atmosphere. Using the mid-infrared instrument of the James Webb Telescope, the researchers created a “thermal map” of GJ 1214 b as it revolves around its host star.
According to NASA, this thermal map revealed differences between day and night as well as details about the composition of the planet’s atmosphere.
Researcher Eliza Kempton from the University of Maryland stated that the planet is completely shrouded in a thick mist. Until this observation was made, researchers had been unable to clarify information about the atmospheric composition of this planet since its discovery in late 2009.
Ms. Kempton assessed that with the new observations, if there isn’t much water present, this planet could have once been a “water world” with a substantial amount of water and ice material at the time of its formation.
