The newly deployed James Webb Space Telescope has discovered the first clear evidence of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of a planet outside our solar system.
American space agency NASA approved Evidence was discovered in the atmosphere of a planet orbiting a star about 700 light-years from Earth. Planets orbiting a star outside our solar system are called exoplanets.
NASA said the exoplanet where carbon dioxide was found or detected is a hot, gaseous planet. Discovered in 2011 and named WASP-39 b, the exoplanet – with roughly the same mass as Saturn – remains around 900 degrees Celsius. It stays hot because it orbits very close to its star.
Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes have made observations of WASP-39 b in the past, the space agency said. These observations indicated the presence of water. steamsodium and potassium in the atmosphere of the outer planet.
But now, the presence of carbon dioxide in its atmosphere has also been confirmed. NASA said the Webb telescope was able to make the discovery because of its unusual technical capabilities.
Researchers recently described the discovery in an article posted online. A detailed study of the findings will appear in the next issue of the publication. Nature.
NASA described Webb as “the largest and most powerful space science telescope ever built.” NASA is a joint partnership between the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Canadian Space Agency.
Webb is designed to gather more data and explore never-before-seen parts of space. NASA in July released First images captured by the Webb telescope. The images demonstrated Webb’s ability to collect data on distant objects and observe extremely detailed elements of galaxies and exoplanets.
A sensitive, infrared instrument makes it possible for the orbiting observatory to confirm the presence of carbon dioxide in WASP-39 b’s atmosphere, NASA said. The device is called a Near Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec).
NIRSpec is designed to capture radiation at near infrared wavelengths. Using this instrument, astronomers can make a detailed map of some of the chemicals present in a planet’s atmosphere if conditions are right. This allows scientists to look for the presence of gases and other substances.
Zafar Rustamkulov is a student at Johns Hopkins University and a member of Webb’s Early Release Science team. Ha aforementioned He stated that as soon as he saw the carbon dioxide data, he understood that this was a great discovery. “Passing a momentous moment was a special moment threshold in exoplanet sciences.”
Natalie Batalha of the University of California at Santa Cruz helped lead the team. “Detecting such a clear carbon dioxide signal in WASP-39 b You will be fine for the detection of atmospheres in smaller environments, terrestrial-dimensional planets.”
NASA said such discoveries are important because they help scientists better understand the structure of a planet’s atmosphere. This can provide valuable information about how planets formed and evolved over time.
“Carbon dioxide molecules are sensitive viewers “The summary of the story of planet formation,” said Mike Line of Arizona State University. He is another member of the research team. “By measuring this carbon dioxide… we can determine how much solid material versus how much gaseous material was used to form this gas giant planet.”
Line added that it is expected that the Webb telescope will continue to make similar discoveries in the coming years. In doing so, scientists can wininsight details of how planets formed and uniqueness our own solar system.”
I am Bryan Lynn.
Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English, based on reports from NASA, Agence France-Presse, and the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy.
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The Words in This Story
steam – n. small drops of liquid in the air
threshold – n. the level at which something begins to happen
It will be fine – n. will be a good sign for the future
terrestrial – p. Of or pertaining to the world
trace – inside. to follow something
insight – n. the ability to understand what something really looks like
unique – p. different from other things
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