{"id":218192,"date":"2022-11-30T10:47:51","date_gmt":"2022-11-30T08:47:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/osr.org\/?p=218192"},"modified":"2022-11-30T10:47:51","modified_gmt":"2022-11-30T08:47:51","slug":"nasa-telescope-confirms-composition-of-exoplanets-atmosphere","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/osr.org\/en-uk\/blog\/news-en-uk\/nasa-telescope-confirms-composition-of-exoplanets-atmosphere\/","title":{"rendered":"NASA Telescope Confirms Composition of Exoplanet’s Atmosphere"},"content":{"rendered":"

After plenty of hype and anxious waiting, the NASA James Webb Space Telescope<\/span><\/a> (JWST) launched on Christmas Day 2021. Its primary aim is to observe parts of space further away than we’ve ever seen before and to give new insight into objects previously studied by the Hubble Space Telescope. And since its activation this summer, the JWST is already getting astronomers from around the world excited. We’ve seen stunning images of nebulae<\/a> and detailed infrared shots of aurora activity on Jupiter<\/a>. We’ve also been treated to the deepest and sharpest view of the universe<\/a> we’ve ever captured. But now, the JWST has turned its attention to exoplanet WASP-39 b in a study that could answer questions about life in the universe.<\/span><\/p>\n

What is WASP-39 b?<\/span><\/h2>\n

WASP-39 b<\/span><\/a>, also known as Bocaprins, is an\u00a0<\/span>exoplanet<\/span><\/a> (a planet outside our Solar System) first discovered in 2011. It orbits Wasp-39, a Class G star found around 700 light-years from Earth in the constellation Virgo. Wasp-39 b is known as a ‘hot Jupiter’ planet. Like Jupiter, it is a gas giant; however, it orbits very close to its parent star (eight times closer than Mercury to our Sun) and has an average temperature of around 900 degrees Celsius.<\/span><\/p>\n

What did the JWST find?<\/span><\/h2>\n

After training its sights on WASP-39 b, the NASA telescope revealed isolated elements in the planet’s atmosphere, including sodium, potassium, and water vapour. It also detected carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide and found evidence of cloud formations. Additionally, sulphur dioxide, produced in a chemical reaction triggered by starlight, was also detected – another first for an exoplanet. Shang-Min Tsai, a University of Oxford researcher and lead author of the research paper, said<\/a>, “This is the first time we see concrete evidence of photochemistry \u2013 chemical reactions initiated by energetic stellar light \u2013 on exoplanets. I see this as a really promising outlook for advancing our understanding of exoplanet atmospheres with (this mission).”<\/span><\/p>\n

\"NASA

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope<\/a>, CC BY 2.0<\/a>, via Wikimedia Commons<\/p><\/figure> NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope<\/a>, CC BY 2.0<\/a>, via Wikimedia Commons<\/p><\/div>\n

How did the NASA JWST do it?<\/span><\/h2>\n

The discovery was made possible using the transit method, which is how most of the exoplanets we’ve discovered have been spotted. As telescopes focus on a star, astronomers look for any slight, momentary reduction in light output from the star. Should this happen, it indicates that a planet has passed in front of the star, blocking some of its light from reaching us. With the JWST, we can see these transits in even greater detail. As starlight passes through an exoplanet’s atmosphere, different wavelengths on the visible spectrum<\/a> are blocked by elements in the atmosphere. By analysing the wavelengths that have been blocked, we can determine the elements that are present.<\/span><\/p>\n

What happens next?<\/span><\/h2>\n

As WASP-39 b is a known ‘hot Jupiter’ exoplanet, the results were anticipated and haven’t changed our understanding of the planet. But now that these techniques have been proven to work, NASA can replicate the experiment on other targets. One such candidate is the TRAPPIST-1 star system, 40.7 light-years away. The star is known to play host to seven planets; interestingly, as many as four are potentially habitable rocky worlds. The JWST could confirm whether any of these planets are indeed habitable. Eventually, it’s even possible that the telescope could find signs of biosignatures \u2013 confirming life, in some form, on another planet.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"An

ESO\/N. Bartmann\/spaceengine.org<\/a>, CC BY 4.0<\/a>, via Wikimedia Commons<\/p><\/figure> ESO\/N. Bartmann\/spaceengine.org<\/a>, CC BY 4.0<\/a>, via Wikimedia Commons<\/p><\/div>\n

Whatever the outcome, the JWST will surely give us even more fascinating insights into the universe throughout its expected mission duration. And while we wait, why not learn more about the stars by downloading the\u00a0OSR Star Finder App<\/a>?<\/p>\n

Orange Button!<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After plenty of hype and anxious waiting, the NASA James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) launched on Christmas Day 2021. Its primary aim is to observe parts of space further away than we’ve ever seen before and to give new insight into objects previously studied by the Hubble Space Telescope. And since its activation this summer, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":50,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1373],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-218192","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news-en-uk"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nNASA Telescope Confirms Composition of Exoplanet's Atmosphere - Online Star Register %<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The NASA James Webb Space Telescope has analysed an exoplanet's atmospheric composition for the first time. Here's what you need to know.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/osr.org\/en-uk\/blog\/news-en-uk\/nasa-telescope-confirms-composition-of-exoplanets-atmosphere\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"NASA Telescope Confirms Composition of Exoplanet's Atmosphere - Online Star Register %\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The NASA James Webb Space Telescope has analysed an exoplanet's atmospheric composition for the first time. Here's what you need to know.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/osr.org\/en-uk\/blog\/news-en-uk\/nasa-telescope-confirms-composition-of-exoplanets-atmosphere\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Online Star Register\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-11-30T08:47:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/osr.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Hot_Gas_Giant_Exoplanet_WASP-39_b_NIRSpec_Transmission_Spectrum.png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Sebastian Wolf\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Sebastian Wolf\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t \"@context\": \"https:\/\/schema.org\",\n\t \"@graph\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\/\/osr.org\/en-uk\/blog\/news-en-uk\/nasa-telescope-confirms-composition-of-exoplanets-atmosphere\/\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\/\/osr.org\/en-uk\/blog\/news-en-uk\/nasa-telescope-confirms-composition-of-exoplanets-atmosphere\/\",\n\t \"name\": \"NASA Telescope Confirms Composition of Exoplanet's Atmosphere - Online Star Register %\",\n\t \"isPartOf\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\/\/osr.org\/en-uk\/#website\"\n\t },\n\t \"primaryImageOfPage\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\/\/osr.org\/en-uk\/blog\/news-en-uk\/nasa-telescope-confirms-composition-of-exoplanets-atmosphere\/#primaryimage\"\n\t },\n\t \"image\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\/\/osr.org\/en-uk\/blog\/news-en-uk\/nasa-telescope-confirms-composition-of-exoplanets-atmosphere\/#primaryimage\"\n\t },\n\t \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\/\/osr.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Hot_Gas_Giant_Exoplanet_WASP-39_b_NIRSpec_Transmission_Spectrum.png\",\n\t \"datePublished\": \"2022-11-30T08:47:51+00:00\",\n\t \"author\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\/\/osr.org\/en-uk\/#\/schema\/person\/64c4e8743579b229f87b1d3de0090348\"\n\t },\n\t \"description\": \"The NASA James Webb Space Telescope has analysed an exoplanet's atmospheric composition for the first time. Here's what you need to know.\",\n\t \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\/\/osr.org\/en-uk\/blog\/news-en-uk\/nasa-telescope-confirms-composition-of-exoplanets-atmosphere\/#breadcrumb\"\n\t },\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-UK\",\n\t \"potentialAction\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t \"target\": [\n\t \"https:\/\/osr.org\/en-uk\/blog\/news-en-uk\/nasa-telescope-confirms-composition-of-exoplanets-atmosphere\/\"\n\t ]\n\t }\n\t ]\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-UK\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\/\/osr.org\/en-uk\/blog\/news-en-uk\/nasa-telescope-confirms-composition-of-exoplanets-atmosphere\/#primaryimage\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\/\/osr.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Hot_Gas_Giant_Exoplanet_WASP-39_b_NIRSpec_Transmission_Spectrum.png\",\n\t \"contentUrl\": \"https:\/\/osr.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Hot_Gas_Giant_Exoplanet_WASP-39_b_NIRSpec_Transmission_Spectrum.png\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\/\/osr.org\/en-uk\/blog\/news-en-uk\/nasa-telescope-confirms-composition-of-exoplanets-atmosphere\/#breadcrumb\",\n\t \"itemListElement\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t \"position\": 1,\n\t \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t \"item\": \"https:\/\/osr.org\/en-uk\/\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t \"position\": 2,\n\t \"name\": \"News\",\n\t \"item\": \"https:\/\/osr.org\/en-uk\/news-en-uk\/\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t \"position\": 3,\n\t \"name\": \"NASA Telescope Confirms Composition of Exoplanet’s Atmosphere\"\n\t }\n\t ]\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\/\/osr.org\/en-uk\/#website\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\/\/osr.org\/en-uk\/\",\n\t \"name\": \"Online Star Register\",\n\t \"description\": \"\",\n\t \"potentialAction\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t \"target\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\/\/osr.org\/en-uk\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t },\n\t \"query-input\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t }\n\t }\n\t ],\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-UK\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\/\/osr.org\/en-uk\/#\/schema\/person\/64c4e8743579b229f87b1d3de0090348\",\n\t \"name\": \"Sebastian Wolf\",\n\t \"description\": \"Sebastian Wolf is an experienced writer and editor. His obsession with astronomy began at a young age when he was introduced to the marvels of the universe while watching reruns of Carl Sagan\u2019s Cosmos: A Personal Voyage before being awestruck by the 1997 visit of the Hale-Bopp comet. Ever since, he has taken every opportunity to study, witness, and enjoy the wonders of the night sky. Having contributed articles to the OSR Blog since 2022, he relishes the chance to promote the joys of astronomy and share his love of the cosmos. \u201cSomewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known.\u201d \u2013 Sharon Begley.\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\/\/osr.org\/en-uk\/blog\/author\/sebastian-wolf\/\"\n\t }\n\t ]\n\t}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"NASA Telescope Confirms Composition of Exoplanet's Atmosphere - Online Star Register %","description":"The NASA James Webb Space Telescope has analysed an exoplanet's atmospheric composition for the first time. Here's what you need to know.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/osr.org\/en-uk\/blog\/news-en-uk\/nasa-telescope-confirms-composition-of-exoplanets-atmosphere\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"NASA Telescope Confirms Composition of Exoplanet's Atmosphere - Online Star Register %","og_description":"The NASA James Webb Space Telescope has analysed an exoplanet's atmospheric composition for the first time. Here's what you need to know.","og_url":"https:\/\/osr.org\/en-uk\/blog\/news-en-uk\/nasa-telescope-confirms-composition-of-exoplanets-atmosphere\/","og_site_name":"Online Star Register","article_published_time":"2022-11-30T08:47:51+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/osr.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Hot_Gas_Giant_Exoplanet_WASP-39_b_NIRSpec_Transmission_Spectrum.png","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Sebastian Wolf","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Sebastian Wolf","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/osr.org\/en-uk\/blog\/news-en-uk\/nasa-telescope-confirms-composition-of-exoplanets-atmosphere\/","url":"https:\/\/osr.org\/en-uk\/blog\/news-en-uk\/nasa-telescope-confirms-composition-of-exoplanets-atmosphere\/","name":"NASA Telescope Confirms Composition of Exoplanet's Atmosphere - Online Star Register %","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/osr.org\/en-uk\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/osr.org\/en-uk\/blog\/news-en-uk\/nasa-telescope-confirms-composition-of-exoplanets-atmosphere\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/osr.org\/en-uk\/blog\/news-en-uk\/nasa-telescope-confirms-composition-of-exoplanets-atmosphere\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/osr.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Hot_Gas_Giant_Exoplanet_WASP-39_b_NIRSpec_Transmission_Spectrum.png","datePublished":"2022-11-30T08:47:51+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/osr.org\/en-uk\/#\/schema\/person\/64c4e8743579b229f87b1d3de0090348"},"description":"The NASA James Webb Space Telescope has analysed an exoplanet's atmospheric composition for the first time. Here's what you need to know.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/osr.org\/en-uk\/blog\/news-en-uk\/nasa-telescope-confirms-composition-of-exoplanets-atmosphere\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-UK","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/osr.org\/en-uk\/blog\/news-en-uk\/nasa-telescope-confirms-composition-of-exoplanets-atmosphere\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-UK","@id":"https:\/\/osr.org\/en-uk\/blog\/news-en-uk\/nasa-telescope-confirms-composition-of-exoplanets-atmosphere\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/osr.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Hot_Gas_Giant_Exoplanet_WASP-39_b_NIRSpec_Transmission_Spectrum.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/osr.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Hot_Gas_Giant_Exoplanet_WASP-39_b_NIRSpec_Transmission_Spectrum.png"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/osr.org\/en-uk\/blog\/news-en-uk\/nasa-telescope-confirms-composition-of-exoplanets-atmosphere\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/osr.org\/en-uk\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/osr.org\/en-uk\/news-en-uk\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"NASA Telescope Confirms Composition of Exoplanet’s Atmosphere"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/osr.org\/en-uk\/#website","url":"https:\/\/osr.org\/en-uk\/","name":"Online Star Register","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/osr.org\/en-uk\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-UK"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/osr.org\/en-uk\/#\/schema\/person\/64c4e8743579b229f87b1d3de0090348","name":"Sebastian Wolf","description":"Sebastian Wolf is an experienced writer and editor. His obsession with astronomy began at a young age when he was introduced to the marvels of the universe while watching reruns of Carl Sagan\u2019s Cosmos: A Personal Voyage before being awestruck by the 1997 visit of the Hale-Bopp comet. Ever since, he has taken every opportunity to study, witness, and enjoy the wonders of the night sky. Having contributed articles to the OSR Blog since 2022, he relishes the chance to promote the joys of astronomy and share his love of the cosmos. \u201cSomewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known.\u201d \u2013 Sharon Begley.","url":"https:\/\/osr.org\/en-uk\/blog\/author\/sebastian-wolf\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/osr.org\/en-uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/218192","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/osr.org\/en-uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/osr.org\/en-uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/osr.org\/en-uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/50"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/osr.org\/en-uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=218192"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/osr.org\/en-uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/218192\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":453530,"href":"https:\/\/osr.org\/en-uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/218192\/revisions\/453530"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/osr.org\/en-uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=218192"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/osr.org\/en-uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=218192"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/osr.org\/en-uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=218192"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}