The Webb Space Telescope has found no evidence of an atmosphere at one of the seven rocky, Earth-sized planets orbiting a nearby star.
Scientists said Monday that doesn't bode well for the rest of the planets in this solar system, some of which are in the sweet spot for harbouring water and potentially life.
The NASA-led team reported little if no atmosphere exists at the innermost planet in the Trappist system, 40 light-years away. The researchers used a special technique geared toward a warm planet like this one. .
The lack of an atmosphere would mean no water and no protection from cosmic rays, said NASA's Thomas Greene, the lead researcher.
As for the other planets orbiting the small, feeble Trappist star, "I would have been more optimistic about the others" having atmospheres if this one had, Greene said in an email.
Because this innermost planet is bombarded by solar radiation -- four times as much as Earth gets from our sun -- it's possible that extra energy is why there's no atmosphere, Greene noted.
More observations are planned not only of this planet, but the others in the Trappist system.
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This week, Avery Haines follows migrants' harrowing journeys across the Darien Gap. Strict new rules to stem the flood of migrants through the notorious stretch of dense jungle appear to be working, but advocates fear it could backfire.
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He may not have logged the fastest time or even gone the full distance, but residents of a Newfoundland town agree the goat who unexpectedly joined the local weekend half marathon was the event's undisputed champion.
A mother in a community where the cost of living is one of the highest in the country says grocery prices are 'inhumane' and retailers are putting profits ahead of people’s basic human right to food.
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