Confirmation of the existence of an exoplanet the size of Earth 41 light years ago The first confirmation of the existence of a planet by the Web Space Telescope | sorae Portal site to space

A team of researchers led by Jacob Lustig-Yaeger and Kevin Stevenson at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) used the James Webb Space Telescope to identify an exoplanet roughly the size of Earth. The results of his research were announced at the 241st meeting of the American Astronomical Society. This is the first time that the existence of an exoplanet has been confirmed through observations with the Webb Space Telescope.

The Earth’s diameter is 99%, and future observations are expected to provide inferences about the presence and composition of the atmosphere.

The research team reports an exoplanet, LHS 475 b, about 41 light-years away in the direction of Hachibungi in the southern sky. LHS 475 b is 99% the diameter of Earth, and it has been confirmed that it orbits its main star, the red dwarf star LHS 475, every two days.

As seen from Earth, LHS 475 b periodically “transits” across the front of its star. During the transit, the planet obscures part of the star, so its brightness is slightly weaker. By examining changes in brightness and light spectrum (the intensity of each wavelength of electromagnetic waves) in detail, we can obtain information such as the exoplanet’s diameter, orbital period, presence or absence of an atmosphere, and chemical composition.

The research team carefully sifted through observational data from NASA’s TESS exoplanet probe, which uses transits to detect exoplanets, and chose LHS 475 as the target for observations with the Webb Space Telescope.

【▲ LHS 475 b Transit curves and light before and after transit taken by the James Webb Space Telescope’s Near Infrared Spectrometer (NIRSpec). Purple dots are the observed data, orange lines are best models (Credit: Illustration: NASA, ESA, CSA, Leah Hustak (STScI); Science: Kevin B. Stevenson (APL), Jacob A. Lustig-Yaeger (APL), ul. (APL), Guangwei Fu (JHU), Sarah E. Moran (University of Arizona)）]

The second image shows observational data (purple) from the Webb Space Telescope’s Near Infrared Spectrometer (NIRSpec) which clearly captures the change in brightness of LHS 475 as it transits LHS 475 b. Data obtained during an observation conducted on August 31, 2022.

In addition, by making spectroscopic observations to obtain the spectrum of the host star when an exoplanet passes in front of the host star, we can learn what substances are in the planet’s atmosphere. The third image below shows the transmission spectrum of LHS 475 b (the spectrum of the main star’s light that passed through the exoplanet’s atmosphere). At the time of the announcement, no conclusions have been made about the presence or absence of the atmosphere and chemical composition of LHS 475 b, but at least it is believed that there is no such thick atmosphere consisting mainly of methane as Saturn’s satellite Titan.

[▲طيفالإرسالLHS475bتمالحصولعليهباستخداممقياسطيفالأشعةتحتالحمراءالقريبمنتلسكوبجيمسويبالفضائي(NIRSpec)تُظهرالنقاطالبيضاءبياناتالمراقبة،الخطوطالخضراء:نموذجيفترضوجودغلافجويللميثان،برتقالي:نموذجيفترضعدموجودغلافجوي،أرجواني:نموذجيفترضوجودغلافجويلثانيأكسيدالكربون(Credit:Illustration:NASA)،ESA،CSA،LeahHustak(STScI)؛العلوم:كيفنبستيفنسون(APL)،جاكوبألوستيج-ييجر(APL)،IreneImmay(APL)Guangfu(JHU)SarahImmoran(UniversityofArizona)】[▲طيفالإرسالLHS475bتمالحصولعليهباستخداممقياسطيفالأشعةتحتالحمراءالقريبمنتلسكوبجيمسويبالفضائي(NIRSpec)تُظهرالنقاطالبيضاءبياناتالمراقبة،الخطوطالخضراء:نموذجيفترضوجودغلافجويللميثان،برتقالي:نموذجيفترضعدموجودغلافجوي،أرجواني:نموذجيفترضوجودغلافجويلثانيأكسيدالكربون(Credit:Illustration:NASA)،ESA،CSA،LeahHustak(STScI)؛العلوم:كيفنبستيفنسون(APL)،جاكوبألوستيج-ييجر(APL)،إيرينإمماي(APL)،جوانجويفو(JHU)،سارةإيموران(جامعةأريزونا))】

However, the atmosphere, which is mainly composed of carbon dioxide like Mars, is difficult to detect because it is thin, and it is difficult to distinguish it from the absence of an atmosphere, so the research team will add more detailed data in the summer. From 2023. We plan to make an observation. The data obtained so far indicate that the surface temperature of LHS 475 b is about 200 to 300 degrees Celsius warmer than that of Earth, and if the presence of carbon dioxide atmosphere and clouds is detected, Venus also seems to have the possibility to conclude that it similar planet.

Confirmation of LHS 475 b based on Webb Space Telescope data is just the beginning. It is said that traditional research has focused mainly on gas giant planets, in part due to limitations in observational methods, but this result demonstrates once again the high resolution of the Webb Space Telescope, which can identify smaller exoplanets. Lustig-Yaeger and Stevenson hope that observations with the Webb Space Telescope will discover more rocky planets in the future.

Source

• Image credit: Illustration: NASA, ESA, CSA, Leah Hustak (STScI); Sciences: Kevin B. Stevenson (APL), Jacob A. Lustig-Yaeger (APL), Erin M. May (APL), Guangwei Fu (JHU), Sarah E. Moran (University of Arizona)
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