File:ARTIST ILLUSTRATION Webb Finds Water Vapor, But From a Rocky Planet or Its Star? (52861256017).jpg
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NOTE: This is an artist illustration. The James Webb Space Telescope has detected hints of water vapor while observing rocky exoplanet GJ 486 b, but a mystery remains. Researchers are puzzled over whether the water vapor could be due to cool starspots on the planet’s host star, or if it could indicate an atmosphere — which would be the first atmosphere definitively detected around a rocky exoplanet. Planet GJ 486 b is very close to its red dwarf star. It completes an orbit in just under 1.5 Earth days, and it has a surface temperature of 800 degrees F (426.7 degrees C). If the water vapor is due to an atmosphere, that atmosphere would need to be continuously replenished due to harsh radiation from the active star. These findings could represent a major breakthrough for exoplanet science. To get to the bottom of this mystery, astronomers are planning to observe this exoplanet with another Webb instrument. This will help ultimately determine if an atmosphere does exist for planet GJ 486 b. This will help ultimately determine if an atmosphere does exist for planet GJ 486 b, as well as what the source of the water vapor may be. Stay tuned for more to come! Dive into the details: www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2023/webb-finds-water-vapor-... This image: This artist concept represents the rocky exoplanet GJ 486 b, which orbits a red dwarf star that is only 26 light-years away in the constellation Virgo. By observing GJ 486 b transit in front of its star, astronomers sought signs of an atmosphere. They detected hints of water vapor. However, they caution that while this might be a sign of a planetary atmosphere, the water could be on the star itself – specifically, in cool starspots – and not from the planet at all. Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, Joseph Olmsted (STScI) Image description: Occupying the left two-thirds of the image is a foreground planet mostly in shadow. On the right side, a tan crescent shows subtle surface features. A thin, tenuous blue atmosphere lines the planet’s limb. On the right, a small red globe represents a red dwarf star. Its surface is mottled with small, dark spots resembling sunspots. Both planet and star are on a mostly black background speckled with hundreds of faint, distant stars. |
| Date | |
| Source | ARTIST ILLUSTRATION: Webb Finds Water Vapor, But From a Rocky Planet or Its Star? |
| Author | NASA's James Webb Space Telescope from Greenbelt, MD, USA |
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This image was originally posted to Flickr by James Webb Space Telescope at https://flickr.com/photos/50785054@N03/52861256017. It was reviewed on 6 June 2023 by FlickreviewR 2 and was confirmed to be licensed under the terms of the cc-by-2.0. |
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| current | 20:08, 6 June 2023 | | 3,840 × 2,160 (2.22 MB) | Astromessier (talk | contribs) | Transferred from Flickr via #flickr2commons |
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