James Webb Space Telescope Feed Post

NASA's Webb Hints at Possible Atmosphere Surrounding Rocky Exoplanet (Artist Concept)

The floor is lava! ?? Webb may have detected atmospheric gasses around molten 55 Cancri e, 41 light years from Earth. It’s the best evidence to date for a rocky planet with an atmosphere outside our solar system. 55 Cancri e is a much more hostile environment than Earth: it’s hot, bathed in radiation from being close to its Sun-like star, and tidally-locked with one side always day, the other side always night. Webb’s observations suggest it’s possible for such an extreme environment to sustain a gaseous atmosphere — and also bodes well for Webb’s ability to characterize cooler, potentially habitable rocky planets. Learn more: science.nasa.gov/?id=394368&uri=missions/webb/nasas-w... This image: This artist’s concept is based on new data gathered by NIRCam and MIRI as well as previous observations from other ground- and space-based telescopes, including NASA’s Hubble and retired Spitzer space telescopes. Webb has not captured any images of the planet. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, Ralf Crawford (STScI) Image & Description by NASA