Mit JWST haben Astronomen zum ersten Mal vorläufige Beweise für eine Atmosphäre auf einem felsigen Planeten in einer Clement-Umlaufbahn um einen anderen Stern rund 40 Lichtjahre von der Erde gefunden.
Link zu Studien:
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/jwst-sees-hints-of-an-atmosphere-on-a-potentially-habitable-exoplanet/
5 Kommentare
40 ly from earth.. if I leave now, and can reach C…
What happened to [k2-18b](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/k2-18b-planet-life-evidence-scientists/)? Is it not a rocky planet?
Of course there are several other rocky bodies with atmospheres in our own solar system that aren’t habitable, so just detecting an atmosphere doesn’t imply habitability that strongly. The bigger implication IMO would be answering whether planets of red dwarf stars can form and hold onto atmospheres; it’s unknown whether the higher flare activity of red dwarfs especially early in their lifespan would blow away any planetary atmospheres in the habitable zone.
How dense would an atmosphere have to be for JWST to detect it? Could it pick up a more tenuous one like Mars, or does it have to be dense dense, like Venus?
Based on our current space-speed record its about a 73,000 year drive give or take a few centuries. Better get up early tomorrow. Beat the traffic.
Edit: fixing my math.