After all the launch delays and repeated date pushbacks, the James Webb telescope is finally achieving what it was sent for. Now on the to-do list of explorations are Earth’s exoplanets. Using the James Webb telescope, scientists would study the atmospheres of the exoplanets to determine whether they are habitable or not. Read More
In a tweet from NASA, the space agency stated that the Webb telescope’s next agenda is to reveal planets similar to those we currently exist in. And not just one, NASA has claimed the telescope will delve into the findings of seven such exoplanets. NASA also said the explorations for this would be conducted at TRAPPIST-1. Since its discovery in 2000, scientists have continued to claim that the TRAPPIST-1 has a rather unusual planetary system, and that nothing like it has ever been identified in or outside our solar system. Here is the official statement by NASA.
What types of planets could harbor extraterrestrial life? @NASAWebb will help address this question by looking at TRAPPIST-1, a system of seven rocky planets orbiting a faint star: https://t.co/pDQFLyFokV
It’s the 5th anniversary of the TRAPPIST-1 news, but there’s more @NASAAstrobio come! pic.twitter.com/e35ymHBULy
— NASA (@NASA) February 22, 2022
More about TRAPPIST-1 and the prospect of being habitable
TRAPPIST-1, also referred to as 2MASS J23062928–0502285 or K2-112. It is an ultra-cool red dwarf star in the constellation Aquarius. It has a mass about 9% that of the Sun, a radius slightly larger than the planet Jupiter, and a surface temperature of about 2560 Kelvin. As many as four of the planets are believed to be in TRAPPIST-1’s habitable zone and thus have temperatures suitable for the presence of liquid water and thus for the development of life. So will the Webb actually be able to identify one habitable planet where life exists? Only time can tell.
Credit source: NASA