A new hope for life? The webb telescope reveals the first clues of the potentially habitable world

Trappist-1e does not show any sign of its first atmosphere, but clues of a secondary remain. Liquid water could still be possible.

Astrophysicists at University of Bristol contribute to new ideas on a exoplanet Located at 40-light years, where liquid water could exist as a large ocean or an ice surface layer.

Such conditions would only be possible if the planet retains an atmosphere – a central question that researchers work to answer, now with greater precision using the most powerful space telescope available.

Through NasaJWST, scientists have advanced this survey in the context of a great international student collaboration both the surface and potential atmosphere of Trappist-11e, often simply called planet E, which orbit in the habitable zone of the red red dwarf star.

Why the planet E is important

Exoplanets are various worlds which orbit stars beyond our solar system. The planet E is particularly convincing because, in theory, liquid water could remain stable on its surface if the temperature is neither excessively hot nor cold. This balance, however, depends entirely on the presence of an atmosphere.

To explore this, the researchers used the advanced Nirspec (near infrared spectrograph) of JWST while Planet E transformed its star. While Starlight filters through any present atmosphere, certain wavelengths are absorbed, producing measurable dips in the spectrum captured by JWST. Each transit provides more data, gradually revealing which chemical compounds could exist in the air of the planet.

Initial results, published on September 8, 2025, in two scientific articles of the journal Astrophysical newspaper lettersIndicate several potential scenarios, including the possibility of an atmosphere.

Dr. Hannah Wakeford, an associate professor in astrophysics at the University of Bristol, is an eminent member of the JWST Exoplanet team who helped design the observation configuration for the telescope in order to guarantee that scientists obtain vital data.

Dr. Wakeford said: “What we have found with JWST in these first four observations helps refine the measures of previous Hubble and reveals that there could now be clues of an atmosphere, but we cannot yet exclude the possibility that there is nothing to detect.”

“JWST infrared instruments provide unprecedented details, helping us to understand much more on what determines the atmosphere and the surface environment of a planet, and what they are composed. It is incredibly exciting to take off the curtain of these other fascinating worlds, measuring the details of the starry light around the earth of the earth to determine what it could be a new problem.

Excluding primordial hydrogen

Although several results are always possible for the planet E, scientists are certain that they no longer keep the atmosphere with which it originally formed.

The co-author of the two studies, Dr. David Grant, a former main research partner at the University of Bristol, explained: “The results also exclude the presence of a primordial atmosphere based on hydrogen. This is the sparkling envelope, mainly comprising hydrogen, which surrounded a planet when it started for training.

Dr. Wakeford added: “Since Trappist-1 is a very active star, with frequent eruptions, it is not surprising that any atmosphere of hydrogen-helium that the planet has formed is eliminated by the loss of radiation.

Secondary atmospheres and greenhouse effect

The presence of a secondary atmosphere means that liquid water could also exist on the surface and if this is the case, the researchers understand that it would be accompanied by a greenhouse effect, similar to that of the planet Earth, in which various gases, in particular carbon dioxide, maintain the stable atmosphere and the hot planet.

The two details on the article work on the theoretical interpretation and the main author, Dr. Ana Guridden, post-doctoral researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, explained: “It is unlikely that the atmosphere of the planet will be dominated by carbon dioxide, as the thick atmosphere of the part of Venus and the thin atmosphere of March. But it is also important to note that there are no direct parallels with our solar system. Trappist-1 is a star very different from our sun, and the planetary system that surrounds it is also distinct. »»

Dr. Wakeford added: “A small greenhouse effect can go very far and the new measurements do not exclude enough carbon dioxide to maintain liquid water on the surface. Liquid water could take the form of a global ocean, or cover a smaller area of ​​the planet where the star is perpetuated at noon and close orbids, they would be all cases, plants, cups, plants “are and closed orbits for all plants, planets, plants” are orbits for all plants “, are orbid, Case, plants, cup plants, plants “are orbits, they are all cases, the planets”. With one side always facing the star and the other side in perpetual darkness. »»

Following steps in observations

The next research steps will involve new detailed observations, comparing the data from another exoplanet – planet B – in orbit closest to Trappist -1 in order to make more revelations.

One of the main researchers of the research team focused on the Trappist-1e Dr. born Espinoza, associate astronomer and scientific of the mission for the science of exoplanets at The The The Institute of Sciences of the Space Telescope (STSCI) in Baltimore, Maryland, said: “Webb infrared instruments give us more details than we have never access before, and the first four observations we were able to make from the planet E show us with which we will have to work when the rest of the information will happen.”

References: “JWST-TST Dreams: NIRSPEC / PRISM Transmission Spectroscopy of the Planet Trappist-1 e” Courregs, Kevin B. Stevenson, Sularrit Ranjan, Knicole Colón, Brett M. Morris, Ryan J. Macdonald, Natasha E. Ny, Zifeng r. Mulens, Daniel Valentine, C. Matt Mountain, Laurent Pueyo, Marshall D. Perrin, Andrea Bellini, Jens Kammerer, Mattia Libralat, Isabel Rebollido, Emily Rickman, Sangmo Tony Sohn and Roeland P. Van der Mael, September 8, 2025, Astrophysical newspaper letters.
Two: 10.3847 / 2041-8213 / ADF42E

2 by Ana Glidden, Ranjan Sukrit, Sarahan, David Grant, David Grant, Amalie Gressier, Kevin B. Stevenson, Natasha E. Matt Mountain Astrophysical newspaper letters.
Two: 10.3847 / 2041-8213 / ADF62E

The project is part of the JWST-TST Dreams program, led by Dr. Nikole Lewis, an associate teacher of astronomy at Cornell University at US City Ithaca, New York. This international project involves more than 30 scientists from the United Kingdom, the United States and India, including five members or former members of the Dr. Wakeford team. It includes the revolutionary detection of quartz clouds in the atmosphere of a hot exoplanet, as shown in a recent study, led by Dr. Grant and co-written by Dr. Wakeford.

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