Tag: Carbon Dioxide In Exoplanet Atmosphere

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Historic! NASA James Webb Telescope detects CO2 in Saturn-sized exoplanet’s atmosphere

For the first time, NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has detected evidence of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of an exoplanet outside the solar system. The discovery of carbon dioxide has been spotted on the giant WASP-39 b planet orbiting a Sun-like star 700 light-years away. NASA says that the discovery provides important insights into the composition and formation of the planet. It further says that in the future Webb Telescope may be able to detect and measure carbon dioxide in the thinner atmospheres of smaller, rocky planets.The hot gas giant, WASP-39 b has a mass roughly the size of Saturn and a diameter 1.3 times greater than Jupiter. NASA says that its high temperature can go up to 1,600 degrees Fahrenheit, or 900 degrees Celsius. “Unlike the cooler, mor...
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NASA’s Webb Space Telescope Finds Carbon Dioxide In Exoplanet Atmosphere

The exoplanet has a mass one-quarter that of Jupiter but a diameter 1.3 times bigger.Washington: The months-old James Webb Space Telescope has added another major scientific discovery to its growing list: detecting for the first time signs of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of a planet outside our solar system.Although the exoplanet would never be able to support life as we know it, the successful discovery of CO2 gives researchers hope that similar observations could be carried out on rocky objects more hospitable to life."My first thought: wow, we really do have a chance to detect the atmospheres of terrestrial-size planets," tweeted Natalie Batalha, a professor at the University of California at Santa Cruz and one of hundreds who worked on the Webb project.Their study of exoplanet W...