zajimavy objev :)
Exoplanet LHS 1140 b:
Telescopes used:
MEarth-North observatory, Hubble, JWST, TESS, Spitzer etc.
Host star: LHS 1140 (Red Dwarf)
Distance: 48 light-years
Stellar activity: Calm [No harmful flares]
Planet position: Habitable zone
Tidal-locking: Yes [one side always star-facing]
Type: Super-Earth [very recently confirmed by JWST]
Mass: 5.6 times mass of Earth
Radius: 70% larger than Earth
Mean density: 5.9±0.3 g/cm3 [Earth= 5.51 g/cm3]
Planetary geology: rocky, ice-rich [Snowball]
Planetary atmosphere: Exists! [JWST data]
[only habitable zone exoplanet known till date to have one]
Atmospheric composition: Nitrogen-rich (tentative result)
Surface H2O: High probability (density suggests 10%-20% of planet mass is H2O)
Temperature in star-facing side: 20 deg Celsius/68 deg Fahrenheit
Surface liquid water: High probability in star-facing side
If true, the habitable-zone planet has--
1) a substantial atmosphere [a secondary atmosphere formed due to volcanic activity and comet impacts similar to Earth] and
2) a substantial hydrosphere [an ocean of 4000 km diameter]
Caution: More observations must be done, especially with JWST, for concrete verification
Future observation opportunity:
1) A large-scale (500 hours of Director’s Discretionary Time) survey of rocky exoplanets around nearby M-dwarf stars in JWST observation cycle 3 [to start mid next year]
2) ~250 orbits of ultraviolet observations with the Hubble Space Telescope to characterize the activity of the host stars in parallel to JWST survey
Image: representative
[direct imaging of this planet is not possible with today's technology]