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NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has found its first planet, and it appears to be very similar to Earth.
The planet is almost exactly the same size as our world, and JWST’s precision means scientists can be very confident in their observations, they say.
It is expected to be just the beginning of a series of planets found by NASA’s new space telescope. In addition, it will be able to see these planets in much greater detail than ever before, as the only telescope capable of characterizing the atmospheres of distant planets.
So far, however, scientists have only been able to say what is not in the planet’s atmosphere. It cannot have a thick atmosphere dominated by methane, for example, similar to that of Saturn’s moon Titan.
Researchers hope to better characterize the distant planet’s atmosphere over time. But the findings also point to the use of JWST in the study of other planets, with many more discoveries expected to come in the coming weeks and months.
“These first observational results of a rocky Earth-sized planet open the door to many future possibilities for studying rocky planet atmospheres with Webb,” agreed Mark Clampin, director of the Astrophysics Division at the headquarters of the Born in Washington.
“Webb is bringing us ever closer to a new understanding of Earth-like worlds outside the Solar System, and the mission is just beginning.”
The planet is named LHS 475 bi and is located 41 light-years away in the constellation Octans. One clue was first spotted in data from NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, or TESS, but JWST was able to quickly see and confirm it.
Much is still unknown about the world. But the first observations have confirmed some details: it has a diameter of 99 percent that of the Earth and is a few hundred degrees warmer than our planet.
Such small, rocky planets have remained elusive because their small size requires powerful instruments to see them. The new findings suggest, however, that JWST’s increased power will allow them to be seen relatively easily using the new technology.
“This confirmation of the rocky planet highlights the precision of the mission’s instruments,” said Kevin Stevenson of Johns Hopkins University, who helped lead the work. “And it’s just the first of many discoveries he’ll make.”