The Webb telescope discovered its first planet. It is surprisingly similar to Earth

The newly discovered planet appears to be very similar to our own – it’s almost identical in size, and when it comes to the legendary accuracy of measurements made by the state-of-the-art James Webb telescope, scientists can be sure of observations. The European Space Agency announced the breakthrough discovery.

The Webb telescope has discovered a new planet. Scientists are excited

Astronomers believe that this is just the first of a series of other exoplanets that will be found in the near future by the successors of the now defunct Hubble Telescope. If it is tracked, the spacecraft will be able to see it much more clearly than its predecessor.

It is the only equipment NASA has that can discern the atmospheres of distant celestial bodies with such precision.

a look: NASA. Scientists have observed clouds on Saturn’s moon. The Webb telescope helped with that

However, so far scientists have been able to determine what is missing from the atmosphere of an exoplanet called LHS 475 b, which is known not to be surrounded by a dense layer of methane-dominated gases. A similar event occurred on Titan, one of Saturn’s moons.

Those involved in studying objects orbiting stars outside our solar system hope that, over time, they will be able to give a more accurate composition of the atmosphere of this distant planet. The James Webb Telescope has just demonstrated that its observations can also be used to discover exoplanets. Scientists expect other equally surprising discoveries soon.

“These first observations of an Earth-sized rocky planet open up many future possibilities for studying the atmospheres of rocky planets with Webb,” said Mark Clamping, director of the Astrophysics Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C.

a look: The Pillars of Creation revealed by the Webb Space Telescope

He explained, “Webb is bringing us closer and closer to a new understanding of Earth-like worlds beyond our solar system, and this mission is still in its infancy.”

Exoplanet LHS 475 b What is known about it?

Planet LHS 475 b lies 41 light-years away in the constellation Octane. Its “track” was spotted while analyzing data from NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS for short), but only Webb was able to confirm earlier calculations.

Not much is known about the discovered world, but based on early observations, it is almost certain that LHS 475 b is 99 percent the diameter of Earth, and its surface is hundreds of degrees warmer than ours.

Until now, these small rocky planets (on a cosmic scale) have remained elusive to scientists because their small size requires powerful instruments to monitor them.

However, the new findings suggest – as noted by The Independent – that the increased power of Webb’s telescope will make them relatively easy to spot with the new technology.

map / wka / polsatnews.pl

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