Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Space
  3. News

James Webb telescope gets a view of the ‘white whale’ of exoplanet research

Georgina Torbet
By

Studying other planets is difficult not only because they are so far away, but also because they can have properties that make taking readings much harder. Here in our solar system, we only have scant information about the surface of Venus because its thick atmosphere makes it hard to view. Being 50 light-years away, the planet GJ 1214 b has proved similarly tricky, defying 15 years of attempted observations due to its hazy nature.

But now, the James Webb Space Telescope has been able to peer into the planet’s atmosphere for the first time, revealing the secrets of this mysterious place. It’s known as a mini-Neptune because it has a thick atmosphere and layers of ice like Neptune. Only around three times the diameter of the Earth, the planet likely has lots of water, but it is located in the atmosphere, not on the surface, due to its high surface temperature.

This artist’s concept depicts the planet GJ 1214 b, a “mini-Neptune” with what is likely a steamy, hazy atmosphere. A new study based on observations by NASA’s Webb telescope provides insight into this type of planet, the most common in the galaxy.
This artist’s concept depicts the planet GJ 1214 b, a “mini-Neptune” with what is likely a steamy, hazy atmosphere. A new study based on observations by NASA’s Webb telescope provides insight into this type of planet, the most common in the galaxy.

This water vapor may have contributed to the haziness of the atmosphere, which made observations difficult. However, the main culprit compound causing the reflectiveness remains unknown. “The planet is totally blanketed by some sort of haze or cloud layer,” said lead author Eliza Kempton of the University of Maryland in a statement. “The atmosphere just remained totally hidden from us until this observation.”

Recommended Videos

To observe the planet, researchers used Webb’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI), which can see temperature variations across the planet, showing the differences between the hot dayside that always faces the star and the cooler nightside that always faces out into space. As well as learning about the atmosphere’s composition, scientists were also able to determine that the planet’s average temperature is a scorching 230 degrees Celsius.

This shows how new tools are able to crack some of the tough nuts in exoplanet research, according to experts who described the planet as a “white whale of exoplanet atmosphere characterization.”

“For the last almost decade, the only thing we really knew about this planet was that the atmosphere was cloudy or hazy,” said Rob Zellem, exoplanet researcher  at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. “This paper has really cool implications for additional detailed climate interpretations – to look at the detailed physics happening inside this planet’s atmosphere.”

The research is published in the journal Nature.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Georgina Torbet
Georgina Torbet
Space Writer
Georgina is the Digital Trends space writer, covering human space exploration, planetary science, and cosmology. She…
James Webb captures stunning image of supernova remnant Cassiopeia A
Cassiopeia A (Cas A) is a supernova remnant located about 11,000 light-years from Earth in the constellation Cassiopeia. It spans approximately 10 light-years. This new image uses data from Webb’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) to reveal Cas A in a new light.

A stunning new image from the James Webb Space Telescope shows a famous supernova remnant called Cassiopeia A, or Cas A. When a massive star comes to the end of its life and explodes in a huge outpouring of light and energy called a supernova, it leaves behind a dense core that can become a black hole or a neutron star. But that's not all that remains after a supernova: the explosion can leave its mark on nearby clouds of dust and gas that are formed into intricate structures.

The image of Cas A was taken using Webb's MIRI instrument, which looks in the mid-infrared range. Located 11,000 light-years away, Cassiopeia A is one of the brightest objects in the sky in the radio wavelength, and is also visible in the optical, infrared, and X-ray wavelengths. To see the different features picked up in different wavelengths, you can look at the slider comparison of the Webb infrared image alongside a Hubble visible light image of the same object.

Read more
James Webb captures the rarely-seen rings around Uranus
This zoomed-in image of Uranus, captured by Webb’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) on 6 February 2023, reveals stunning views of the planet’s rings. The planet displays a blue hue in this representative-colour image, made by combining data from two filters (F140M, F300M) at 1.4 and 3.0 microns, shown here as blue and orange, respectively.

The James Webb Space Telescope spends much of its time peering out into distant regions of space searching for some of the earliest galaxies to exist, but it also occasionally turns its sights onto targets a little closer to home. Following up on its image of Neptune released last year, astronomers using Webb have just released a brand-new image of Uranus as you've never seen it before.

As Webb looks in the infrared wavelength, unlike telescopes like Hubble which look in the visible light spectrum, its image of Uranus picks out some features of the planet which are hard to see otherwise like its dusty rings. Uranus' rings are almost invisible in the optical wavelength, but in this new image, they stand out proudly.

Read more
James Webb spots exoplanet with gritty clouds of sand floating in its atmosphere
This illustration conceptualises the swirling clouds identified by the James Webb Space Telescope in the atmosphere of the exoplanet VHS 1256 b. The planet is about 40 light-years away and orbits two stars that are locked in their own tight rotation. Its clouds, which are filled with silicate dust, are constantly rising, mixing, and moving during its 22-hour day.

One of the most exciting things about the James Webb Space Telescope is that not only can it detect exoplanets, but it can even peer into their atmospheres to see what they are composed of. Understanding exoplanet atmospheres will help us to find potentially habitable worlds, but it will also turn up some fascinating oddities -- like a recent finding of an exoplanet with an atmosphere full of gritty, sand clouds.

Exoplanet VHS 1256 b, around 40 light-years away, has a complex and dynamic atmosphere that shows considerable changes over a 22-hour day. Not only does the atmosphere show evidence of commonly observed chemicals like water, methane, and carbon monoxide, but it also appears to be dotted with clouds made up of silicate grains.

Read more