JWST tagged posts

A Carbon-lite Atmosphere could be a Sign of Water and Life on other Terrestrial Planets

Four planets in space with one having a thinner atmosphere cloud than the rest
Caption:In the search for extraterrestrial life, MIT scientists say a planet’s carbon-lite atmosphere, relative to its neighbors, could be a sure and detectable signal of habitability.
Credits:Image: Christine Daniloff, MIT; iStock

A low carbon abundance in planetary atmospheres could be a signature of habitability. Scientists at MIT, the University of Birmingham, and elsewhere say that astronomers’ best chance of finding liquid water, and even life on other planets, is to look for the absence, rather than the presence, of a chemical feature in their atmospheres.

The researchers propose that if a terrestrial planet has substantially less CO2 in its atmosphere compared to other planets in the same system, it could be a sign of liquid water — and possibly life — on that planet’s surf...

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Dark Galactic region nicknamed ‘The Brick’ explained with Webb Telescope findings

The Galactic Center is full of stars: There are over half a million in this image. Using JWST’s specialized filters and a little bit of Photoshop, the team was able to remove the stars and show only the filamentary nebula of hot gas that permeates the inner Galaxy.  The bright regions are where hydrogen is a hot plasma, glowing from the energy from the massive stars.  The Brick is the dark region where that glowing plasma is blocked out.  Along the edge of the Brick, the glow is bluer: this blue appearance is caused by the CO ice blocking out the red light, letting only the blue through. Photos courtesy of Adam Ginsburg.

Using the James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers spot unexpected source of carbon monoxide ice at galactic region surprisingly devoid of stars.

In a recent study...

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‘Teenage Galaxies’ are Unusually Hot, Glowing with Unexpected Elements

A Webb telescope image of a galaxy cluster known as “El Gordo,” which is an example of a “cosmic teenager.” Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA

Similar to human teenagers, teenage galaxies are awkward, experience growth spurts and enjoy heavy metal — nickel, that is.

A Northwestern University-led team of astrophysicists has just analyzed the first results from the CECILIA (Chemical Evolution Constrained using Ionized Lines in Interstellar Aurorae) Survey, a program that uses NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to study the chemistry of distant galaxies.

According to the early results, so-called “teenage galaxies” — which formed two-to-three billion years after the Big Bang — are unusually hot and contain unexpected elements, like nickel, which are notoriously difficult to observe.

The...

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James Webb Space Telescope detects Water Vapor, Sulfur Dioxide and Sand Clouds in the Atmosphere of a nearby Exoplanet

A transmission spectrum of the warm Neptune exoplanet WASP-107b, captured by the Low Resolution Spectrometer (LRS) of the Mid InfraRed Instrument (MIRI) on board JWST, reveals evidence for water vapour, sulfur dioxide, and silicate (sand) clouds in the planet’s atmosphere.

European astronomers, co-led by researchers from the Institute of Astronomy, KU Leuven, used recent observations made with the James Webb Space Telescope to study the atmosphere of the nearby exoplanet WASP-107b. Peering deep into the fluffy atmosphere of WASP-107b they discovered not only water vapour and sulfur dioxide, but even silicate sand clouds. These particles reside within a dynamic atmosphere that exhibits vigorous transport of material.

Astronomers worldwide are harnessing the advanced capabilities of...

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