According to new data from NASA’s James Webb Telescope, Earth’s “sister planet” has a daytime temperature of around 230°C.
Simulation of the rocky planet Trappist-1b orbiting the red dwarf star Trappist-1.
Simulation of the rocky planet Trappist-1b orbiting the red dwarf star Trappist-1. (Photo: NASA)
When Trappist System-1 Discovered in 2017, astronomers were excited by the prospect that some of its seven rocky planets – with sizes and masses similar to Earth – could be habitable.
Just 40 light years away, these exoplanets orbit the red dwarf star Trappist-1 with a much closer orbit than the rocky planets of the Solar System. However, their star is “colder” and radiates much less energy than the Sun.
Trappist System-1 has created a clear target for James Webb, NASA’s most powerful space telescope with a series of astonishing discoveries since announcing its first observations last July.
In the new discovery published in the journal Nature On March 27, astronomers focused on Trappist-1b, the closest planet to the host star and the easiest to detect in the Trappist-1 system. Mid-Range Infrared Device (MIRI) The changes in brightness measured by Webb as the planet moved behind the star, in a phenomenon known as secondary eclipse.
Simulation of the Trappist-1 system, in which Trappist-1b is the closest planet to the host star.
Simulation of the Trappist-1 system, in which Trappist-1b is the closest planet to the host star. (Photo: AFP)
“Just before disappearing behind the star, the planet emits the most light because it mainly shows its ‘day’ side”said astrophysicist Elsa Ducrot of the French Atomic and Alternative Energies Commission, co-author of the study. AFP.
By subtracting the star’s brightness, the researchers calculated the amount of infrared light emitted by the planet. Therefore, the MIRI device can function as “a giant contactless thermometer”.
According to NASA, the daytime temperature of Trappist-1b is around 230°C, “almost perfect for cooking pizza”. However, the heat is not distributed over the surface, a role normally provided by the atmosphere.
The scientists therefore concluded Earth’s “cousin planet” “has little or no atmosphere.” If so, its atmosphere is definitely carbon-free because the team saw no signs of light being absorbed by carbon dioxide.
Ducrot said previous space telescopes such as Spitzer could not show whether Trappist-1b had an atmosphere, despite observing 28 secondary solar eclipses. Webb’s ability to analyze atmospheres will usher in a new era in the study of rocky planets outside the solar system.
Article source: VnExpress
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According to new data from NASA’s James Webb Telescope, Earth’s “sister planet” has a daytime temperature of around 230°C.
