James Webb Space Telescope Feed Post

ARTIST ILLUSTRATION: Webb Rules Out Thick Carbon Dioxide Atmosphere for Rocky Exoplanet

TRAPPIST-1 b lacked atmosphere. TRAPPIST-1 c? Much the same. Though thought to be similar to Venus both in size and amount of radiation from its star, Webb found that TRAPPIST-1 c lacks Venus’s thick carbon dioxide-rich atmosphere. If there is an atmosphere, it’s very thin. A refresher: TRAPPIST-1 c is the second planet from its star, the M dwarf TRAPPIST-1. M dwarf stars are intriguing because they are 10 times as common and two times more likely to have rocky planets than stars like our Sun. TRAPPIST-1 has seven! Young M dwarf stars are energetic, emitting X-ray and UV radiation that can strip young planetary atmospheres away. It’s unknown if systems like these had enough water, carbon dioxide, or other ingredients to make atmospheres when the planets formed. Webb is so sensitive that it can search for elements and molecules like oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide in exoplanet atmospheres. The mystery remains — can planets orbiting small M dwarfs sustain the atmospheres needed to support life as we know it? Get the full report: www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2023/webb-rules-out-thick-ca... Image & Description by NASA