JWST discovers first of its kind alien 'steam world'
James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), jointly owned by NASA, European Space Agency, and Canadian Space Agency, has discovered first of its kind exoplanet or alien planet shrouded in a thick envelope of steam
[Representative image]
James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), jointly owned by NASA, European Space Agency, and Canadian Space Agency, has discovered first of its kind exoplanet or alien planet shrouded in a thick envelope of steam.
Located around 100 light-years away from Earth, the exoplanet, designated GJ 9827 d, is around twice the size of Earth, 3 times more massive than our planet, and has an atmosphere almost entirely composed of water vapor, Space.com reported.
"This is the first time we're ever seeing something like this," Eshan Raul, a team member and former University of Michigan undergraduate student currently at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said in a statement.
"The planet appears to be made mostly of hot water vapor, making it something we're calling a 'steam world.' To be clear, this planet isn't hospitable to at least the types of life that we're familiar with on Earth", he added.
The team was led by Caroline Piaulet-Ghorayeb from the University of Montréal's Trottier Institute for Research on Exoplanet.
Astronomers have long assumed that "steam worlds" like GJ 9827 d could exist. However, this is the first time such an exoplanet has been observed.
This planet is unlikely to support life, at least as we understand it, but it could help astronomers study other small exoplanets between the size of Earth and Neptune that are habitable, according to Eshan.
The steamy nature of GJ 9827 d was discovered by the study team using a technique called "transmission spectroscopy."
Transmission spectroscopy is based on the theory that elements and the chemicals they make up absorb and emit light at characteristic electromagnetic wavelengths.
When light from a star shines through the atmosphere of a planet, the elements in that atmosphere absorb certain wavelengths, leaving "gaps" in the light spectrum.
These gaps are the "fingerprints" of specific elements and molecules in that atmosphere.
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