{"id":241642,"date":"2025-09-20T14:34:13","date_gmt":"2025-09-20T14:34:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/241642\/"},"modified":"2025-09-20T14:34:13","modified_gmt":"2025-09-20T14:34:13","slug":"a-new-hope-for-life-webb-telescope-reveals-first-clues-from-potentially-habitable-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/241642\/","title":{"rendered":"A New Hope for Life? Webb Telescope Reveals First Clues From Potentially Habitable World"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\"The<\/a>The Earth-size exoplanet TRAPPIST-1 e, depicted at the lower right, is silhouetted as it passes in front of its flaring host star in this artist\u2019s concept of the TRAPPIST-1 system. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, J. Olmsted (STScI)<\/p>\n

TRAPPIST-1e shows no signs of its first atmosphere, but hints of a secondary one remain. Liquid water could still be possible.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Astrophysicists at the University of Bristol<\/a> are contributing to new insights about an Earth-sized exoplanet located 40 light years away, where liquid water could exist as either a vast ocean or an icy surface layer.<\/p>\n

Such conditions would only be possible if the planet retains an atmosphere \u2013 a central question researchers are working to answer, now with greater precision using the most powerful space telescope available.<\/p>\n

Through NASA\u2019s JWST, scientists have advanced this investigation as part of a large international collaboration studying both the surface and potential atmosphere of TRAPPIST-1e, often referred to simply as planet e, which orbits within the habitable zone of the red dwarf star TRAPPIST-1.<\/p>\n

Why planet e is significant<\/p>\n

Exoplanets are diverse worlds that orbit stars beyond our solar system. Planet e is especially compelling because, in theory, liquid water could remain stable on its surface if the temperature is neither excessively hot nor cold. This balance, however, depends entirely on the presence of an atmosphere.<\/p>\n

To explore this, researchers used JWST\u2019s advanced NIRSpec (Near-Infrared Spectrograph) instrument while planet e transited its star. As starlight filters through any atmosphere present, some wavelengths are absorbed, producing measurable dips in the spectrum captured by JWST. Each transit provides more data, gradually revealing which chemical compounds might exist in the planet\u2019s air.<\/p>\n

Initial results, published on September 8, 2025, in two scientific papers in the journal Astrophysical Journal Letters, indicate several potential scenarios, including the possibility of an atmosphere.<\/p>\n

Dr. Hannah Wakeford, Associate Professor in Astrophysics at the University of Bristol, is a leading member of the JWST Transiting Exoplanet team who helped design the observational set-up for the telescope to ensure scientists obtain vital data.<\/p>\n

Dr. Wakeford said: \u201cWhat we have found with JWST in these first four observations helps refine the earlier Hubble measurements and reveals there might now be hints of an atmosphere, but we cannot yet rule out the possibility there is nothing to detect.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJWST\u2019s infrared instruments are providing unprecedented detail, helping us understand much more about what determines a planet\u2019s atmosphere and surface environment, and what they\u2019re composed of. It\u2019s incredibly exciting to be peeling back the curtain of these fascinating other worlds, measuring the details of starlight around Earth-sized planets to ascertain what it might be like, and if life could be possible. Through a careful process of elimination and comparison, we\u2019re uncovering great new insights.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ruling out primordial hydrogen<\/p>\n

While several outcomes are still possible for planet e, scientists are certain that it no longer retains the atmosphere it originally formed with.<\/p>\n

Co-author of both studies, Dr. David Grant, a former Senior Research Associate at the University of Bristol, explained: \u201cThe findings also further rule out the presence of a primordial hydrogen-based atmosphere. This is the gaseous envelope, mainly comprising hydrogen, that surrounded a planet in its early stages of formation. Such atmospheres are believed to be common for both giant planets and terrestrial planets in the early solar system.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr. Wakeford added: \u201cSince TRAPPIST-1 is a very active star, with frequent flares, it\u2019s not surprising that any hydrogen-helium atmosphere the planet may have formed would be stripped off by stellar radiation. Many planets, including Earth, build up a heavier secondary atmosphere after losing their primary atmosphere. It is possible planet e was never able to do this and doesn\u2019t have a secondary atmosphere, but there\u2019s an equal chance one does exist.\u201d<\/p>\n

Secondary atmospheres and greenhouse effect<\/p>\n

The presence of a secondary atmosphere means liquid water could also exist on the surface and if that\u2019s the case, researchers understand it would be accompanied by a greenhouse effect, akin to that of planet Earth, in which various gases, especially carbon dioxide, keep the atmosphere stable and the planet warm.<\/p>\n

The second paper details work on the theoretical interpretation and lead author Dr. Ana Glidden, a post-doctoral researcher at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, explained: \u201cIt is unlikely the atmosphere of planet e is dominated by carbon dioxide, like the thick atmosphere of Venus and the thin atmosphere of Mars. But it\u2019s also important to note there are no direct parallels with our solar system. TRAPPIST-1 is a very different star from our Sun, and the planetary system around it is also distinct.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr. Wakeford added: \u201cA little greenhouse effect can go a long way and the new measurements do not rule out sufficient carbon dioxide to sustain some liquid water on the surface. The liquid water could take the form of a global ocean, or cover a smaller area of the planet where the star is at perpetual noon, surrounded by ice. This would be possible because, owing to TRAPPIST-1\u2019s planets\u2019 sizes and close orbits to their star, they are all tidally locked, with one side always facing the star and the other side in perpetual darkness.\u201d<\/p>\n

Next steps in observations<\/p>\n

Next steps in the research will involve further detailed observations, comparing data from another exoplanet \u2013 planet b \u2013 orbiting closest to TRAPPIST-1 in order to make more revelations.<\/p>\n

One of the principal investigators of the research team focused on TRAPPIST-1e Dr. N\u00e9stor Espinoza, an Associate Astronomer and Mission Scientist for Exoplanet Science at the the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, Maryland, said: \u201cWebb\u2019s infrared instruments are giving us more detail than we\u2019ve ever had access to before, and the initial four observations we\u2019ve been able to make of planet e are showing us what we will have to work with when the rest of the information comes in.\u201d<\/p>\n

References: \u201cJWST-TST DREAMS: NIRSpec\/PRISM Transmission Spectroscopy of the Habitable Zone Planet TRAPPIST-1 e\u201d by N\u00e9stor Espinoza, Natalie H. Allen, Ana Glidden, Nikole K. Lewis, Sara Seager, Caleb I. Ca\u00f1as, David Grant, Am\u00e9lie Gressier, Shelby Courreges, Kevin B. Stevenson, Sukrit Ranjan, Knicole Col\u00f3n, Brett M. Morris, Ryan J. MacDonald, Douglas Long, Hannah R. Wakeford, Jeff A. Valenti, Lili Alderson, Natasha E. Batalha, Ryan C. Challener, Jingcheng Huang, Zifan Lin, Dana R. Louie, Elijah Mullens, Daniel Valentine, C. Matt Mountain, Laurent Pueyo, Marshall D. Perrin, Andrea Bellini, Jens Kammerer, Mattia Libralato, Isabel Rebollido, Emily Rickman, Sangmo Tony Sohn and Roeland P. van der Marel, 8 September 2025, The Astrophysical Journal Letters.
DOI: 10.3847\/2041-8213\/adf42e<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cJWST-TST DREAMS: Secondary Atmosphere Constraints for the Habitable Zone Planet TRAPPIST-1 e\u201d by Ana Glidden, Sukrit Ranjan, Sara Seager, N\u00e9stor Espinoza, Ryan J. MacDonald, Natalie H. Allen, Caleb I. Ca\u00f1as, David Grant, Am\u00e9lie Gressier, Kevin B. Stevenson, Natasha E. Batalha, Nikole K. Lewis, Douglas Long, Hannah R. Wakeford, Lili Alderson, Ryan C. Challener, Knicole Col\u00f3n, Jingcheng Huang, Zifan Lin, Dana R. Louie, Elijah Mullens, Kristin S. Sotzen, Jeff A. Valenti, Daniel Valentine, Mark Clampin, C. Matt Mountain, Marshall Perrin and Roeland P. van der Marel, 8 September 2025, The Astrophysical Journal Letters.
DOI: 10.3847\/2041-8213\/adf62e<\/a><\/p>\n

The project is part of the JWST-TST DREAMS program, led by Dr. Nikole Lewis, Associate Professor of Astronomy at Cornell University in the US city Ithaca, New York. This international project involves more than 30 scientists from the UK, USA, and India, five of whom are members or former members of Dr. Wakeford\u2019s team. It includes the breakthrough detection of Quartz clouds in the atmosphere of a hot exoplanet, as shown in a recent study<\/a>, led by Dr. Grant and co-authored by Dr. Wakeford.<\/p>\n

Never miss a breakthrough: Join the SciTechDaily newsletter.<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Earth-size exoplanet TRAPPIST-1 e, depicted at the lower right, is silhouetted as it passes in front of…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":241643,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[14826,121211,17301,129032,159,783,128117,67,132,129033,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-241642","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-space","8":"tag-exoplanet","9":"tag-habitable-zone","10":"tag-james-webb-space-telescope","11":"tag-red-dwarf","12":"tag-science","13":"tag-space","14":"tag-trappist-1","15":"tag-united-states","16":"tag-unitedstates","17":"tag-university-of-bristol","18":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115237124252608318","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241642","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=241642"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241642\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/241643"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=241642"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=241642"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=241642"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}