SCIENCE

Webb Telescope scores another milestone

By Sanjana Shankar

1

Milestone

For the first time, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has measured the temperature of a rocky exoplanet, called TRAPPIST-1 b.

2

Scorching exoplanet heat

Webb's onboard instrument estimated that the TRAPPIST-1 b exoplanet has a daytime temperature of 230 degrees Celsius.

3

Planets beyond the solar system

NASA reports that apart from our solar system, TRAPPIST-1 is the most studied planetary system, which has seven exoplanets orbiting the parent star.

4

Findings

The high temperature of TRAPPIST-1 b, which is the closest planet to the TRAPPIST-1 star, suggests that the exoplanet lacks an atmosphere.

5

Technique

Researchers used a technique called secondary eclipse photometry to measure the temperature of TRAPPIST-1 b by estimating the amount of infrared light emitted by the exoplanet.

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