Topic: Space

A team of astronomers used NASA's James Webb Space Telescope to find signs of gas surrounding an ancient super-Earth. This planet is extremely hot and orbits very close to its star.

A team of astronomers led by Carnegie has made a groundbreaking discovery about a rocky planet outside our Solar System. Using NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the researchers found evidence that this planet, called TOI-561 b, has an atmosphere. This is surprising because scientists thought planets like this would not be able to hold onto their atmospheres for long after they formed.

TOI-561 b is a unique planet with many differences from Earth. It has about twice the mass of our planet but orbits extremely close to its star. In fact, it completes a full year in just 10.56 hours! One side of the planet always faces the star, leaving it locked in permanent daylight.

The team used JWST's Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) to measure the temperature of the planet's dayside. They found that the temperature is much lower than expected, suggesting that heat is being redistributed across the planet. This could be due to a thick atmosphere that traps heat and keeps the surface cool.

The discovery of an atmosphere on TOI-561 b challenges our understanding of how planets like this form and evolve. It also opens up new possibilities for studying these types of planets and their atmospheres.

Why It Matters

This discovery is important because it helps us better understand how planets form and change over time. It also shows that even in extreme environments, planets can still have atmospheres that affect their surface temperatures.

Key Facts

• The planet TOI-561 b has about twice the mass of Earth but orbits extremely close to its star.
• The team used NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to find evidence of an atmosphere on this planet.
• TOI-561 b is a unique planet with many differences from Earth, including its extremely hot surface and permanent daylight.

Key Terms

Ultrashort-period planets

Planets that orbit their stars in less than one day

Implications

This discovery is important because it helps us better understand how planets form and change over time. It also shows that even in extreme environments, planets can still have atmospheres that affect their surface temperatures.