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Webb Rules Out Thick Carbon Dioxide Atmosphere for Rocky Exoplanet

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June 19, 2023 11:00AM (EDT)Release ID: 2023-125
Illustration of a large rocky exoplanet in the foreground, a smaller rocky exoplanet in the background, and their red dwarf star in the center. The star is distant and small, and has a bright orange-red glow. The foreground planet is to the upper left of the star and is relatively close and large, covering most of the upper left third of the frame. The right quarter of the planet (the side facing the star) is lit, while the rest is in shadow. The background planet is to the lower right of the star, and appears distant and small. The left quarter of the background planet (the side facing the star) is lit, while the rest in is shadow. Both planets are various shades of gray, with some small craters. The foreground planet has a small hint of an atmosphere. The background planet is very sharp and has no apparent atmosphere.

Summary

Infrared measurements of TRAPPIST-1 c indicate that it is probably not as Venus-like as once imagined.

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has successfully measured the heat radiating from TRAPPIST-1 c, an exoplanet orbiting a red dwarf star 40 light-years from Earth. With a dayside temperature of about 225 degrees Fahrenheit, it is the coolest rocky planet ever characterized using this method.

Unfortunately for those hoping that the TRAPPIST-1 system is a true analog to our own, the results are a bit disappointing. While TRAPPIST-1 c is roughly the same size and mass as Venus and receives the same amount of radiation from its star, it appears unlikely to have the same thick carbon dioxide atmosphere. This indicates that the planet, and perhaps the system as a whole, may have formed with very little water. The result is the latest in the quest to determine whether planetary atmospheres can survive the violent environs of a red dwarf star.

Full Article

An international team of researchers has used NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to calculate the amount of heat energy coming from the rocky exoplanet TRAPPIST-1 c. The result suggests that the planet’s atmosphere – if it exists at all – is extremely thin.  With a dayside temperature of roughly 380 kelvins (about 225 degrees Fahrenheit), TRAPPIST-1 c is now the coolest rocky exoplanet ever characterized based on thermal emission. The precision necessary for these measurements further demonstrates Webb’s utility in characterizing rocky exoplanets similar in ...

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