James Webb reveals a planet unlike anything in our solar system

19.01.2025/08/30 XNUMX:XNUMX    1174


The James Webb Space Telescope has provided groundbreaking information about a new type of exoplanet that is fundamentally different from those in our solar system, penetrating thick layers of clouds to analyze the composition of the atmosphere. The discovery challenges existing classifications and expands our understanding of planetary formation and characteristics.

New data from the James Webb Space Telescope, combined with advanced modeling, has revealed an entirely new type of planet that is unlike anything else in our solar system. The discovery provides new insights into how planets and planetary systems form.

Astronomers have confirmed the existence of more than 5500 exoplanets orbiting stars beyond the Sun. Many of these worlds are very different from the planets we know, making it difficult to determine their true nature. Among the most common are planets that are between the sizes of Earth and Neptune. Scientists have long debated whether these planets are rocky, Earth-like worlds with thick, hydrogen-rich atmospheres, or icy, Neptune-like planets surrounded by water-rich atmospheres, often called “water worlds.” However, studying these planets is complicated by the high, thick cloud layers that often obscure the lower atmosphere, leaving much of their nature a mystery.

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The mystery of exoplanets

An international team of researchers led by Everett Schlavin of the University of Arizona and Steward Observatory and Kazumasa Ohno of the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan used the James Webb Space Telescope to peer through the clouds at an example of this kind of exoplanet, known as GJ 1214. b. Located just 48 light-years from the solar system, toward the constellation Ophiuchus, GJ 1214 b is the easiest example of this kind of planet to study.

Instead of a hydrogen-rich super-Earth or a water world, new data revealed concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2), which are comparable to levels found in dense CO2 atmosphere of Venus in the Solar System. However, there were still many uncertainties in the new data.

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Analyzing GJ 1214 b

"CO signal detected"2 "The first study was tiny, so we needed careful statistical analysis to make sure it was real," Ohno explains. "At the same time, we needed physical and chemical data to extract the true nature of GJ 1214 b's atmosphere from Schlavin's study." Then Ohno took the lead, using theoretical models to run a variety of "what-if" scenarios about the planet's atmosphere. Of all these models, the ones that fit the data best assume a carbon-dominated atmosphere, like a "super-Venus."




Despite its fascination, the atmospheric signature found in this work is very small. Schlavin compares it to reading a book: “It’s the equivalent of Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace. If I gave you two copies and changed one sentence in one of the books, could you find that sentence?” The team emphasizes the need for future studies to confirm and expand on their findings about this common but mysterious type of exoplanet.

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