Almost from day one, James Webb has taught us his ability to observe exoplanets at close range. This allows us to learn more about some of those who, at best, knew of their existence. And this is what he recently did to the planet TRAPPIST-1b. He was able to scrutinize it to the extent that he discovered something that is not good news: probably it has no atmosphere.
In fact, TRAPPIST-1b is not a good candidate for port life. But yes, some of your neighbors. In particular, at least three are in the habitable zone of their star. But to support life, exoplanets must have an atmosphere. And if this one doesn’t, then maybe others don’t either.
This is just a guess, although it is true that it reduces the hope of finding life in these and many others. Earth-like exoplanets. This does not mean that you should stop studying them, far from it, but it is somewhat discouraging.
James Webb and his ability to detect the atmosphere of exoplanets
The James Webb Space Telescope has an excellent ability to detect changes in infrared light. And this, among many other features, is useful for studying the atmospheres of exoplanets.
In essence, just as exoplanets are detected by changes in the light of a star as they pass around it, a telescope like James Webb can determine if they have an atmosphere as they move. secondary eclipse. That is, when the planet passes behind its star. At that moment the atmosphere will call redistribution of infrared radiation emitted by the planet. However, when the telescope looked at TRAPPIST-1b, none of this happened. Therefore, it is concluded that with a high probability there is no atmosphere around it.
Given the age of TRAPPIST-1b, it has had enough time for an atmosphere to form around it. For this reason, the conclusion of the authors of this study, now published in Nature, in that his own star was able to destroy him. This is because TRAPPIST, the star around which this and other exoplanets orbit, is red dwarf. These types of stars have a great tendency to explode, so in their outbursts they could destroy the atmosphere of their nearest planets. Even in the habitable zone.
Should we lose all hope?
this star is beautiful colder than our sun. However, given the proximity of TRAPPIST-1b, it gets four times more radiation than our earth. This is less than what Mercury, the first planet of our planetary system, receives, but more than Venus, which is the second. Therefore, without an atmosphere that stops some of this radiation, life could not multiply in it.
However, there was never any hope of finding life on this planet, since it is outside habitable zone. That is, an area that is at an ideal distance from the Sun so that there can be liquid water, and not solid or gaseous. And that, moreover, the temperature is not too high and not too low.
There are at least three exoplanets from this system in this area: TRAPPIST-1d, 1f and 1g. These are rocky planets with a mass similar to that of the Earth, so they would be good candidates for life. Now, could the flashes of their stars reach them and destroy their atmosphere? We do not know. But these results make us think about such a possibility. And not only this. The authors of the study believe that this could happen to many other similar exoplanetary systems. It is too early to say for sure and there is no consensus among scientists, so hope is not lost either. We will have to study further. If not here, then somewhere else.
Source: Hiper Textual
