James Webb telescope discovers its first Earth-sized exoplanet
- The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced that the James Webb Space Telescope has discovered an Earth-sized exoplanet, its first.
- Researchers have named the planet LHS 475 b. Located just 41 light years away, the planet orbits very close to a red dwarf star and completes a full orbit in two days.
What are exoplanets?
- Exoplanets orbit other stars and are beyond our solar system.
- Exoplanets come in a host of different sizes and temperature ranges.
- Researchers look for their mass and diameter along with determining if they are solid, gaseous or have water vapour in their atmosphere.
How are exoplanets discovered?
- Discovering exoplanets is quite tough as they are small and hard to spot around their bright host stars.
- Scientists thus rely on indirect methods, such as the transit method, which is "measuring the dimming of a star that happens to have a planet pass in front of it", according to NASA.
what are red dwarf stars?
- Red dwarf stars are quite common in the universe.
- As they don't radiate much light, it's tough to detect them with the naked eye.
- However, as red dwarfs are dimmer than other stars, it is easier to find exoplanets that surround them.