The first detection of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of a planeta outside the solar system, the first image of an exoplanet by JWST, the first image of an exoplanet ever taken at deep infrared wavelength, the first detection of silicate clouds in the atmosphere of planetary-mass companion…., the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is ushering in a new era in the study of exoplanets.
Pag-aaral ng exoplanets (i.e., planets outside the solar system) in the stellar systems of bituin in galaxies (including in our home galaxy Milky Way) hold key to the quest for habitable earth-like planeta with environment and conditions conducive to support life. Mga Exoplanet are the foci in the search of signatures of extra-terrestrial life. Several decades of thinking following Fermi’s paradox (1950) and Drake’s equation (1961), exoplanet science seems to be gaining ground now. Over 5000 exoplanets including in galaxies outside our home kalawakan, have already been detected and the list is growing.
JWST, which has recently become operational as a spaced-based Infrared Observatory commissioned at a distance of 1 million miles from the Earth is overcoming photometric measurement limitations of optical telescopes in a big way and seems to be ushering in a new era in the study of exoplanets and subsequently towards quest for habitable planeta nasa home galaxy At higit pa.
Isa sa mga kamakailang pag-unlad na iniulat sa preprint noong 24th Ang Agosto 2022 ay ang unang tiyak na pagtuklas ng carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere of an exoplanet. WASP-39b is a hot gas giant. Previous studies using optical telescopes had indicated presence of CO2 but transmission spectroscopy observations obtained with JWST confirmed presence of CO2 in the atmosphere of this exoplanet1. Dahil dito exoplanet is a hot gas giant, presence of CO2 nagmumungkahi ng pagbuo ng pangunahing atmospera sa pamamagitan ng pagpapayaman ng metal ie, ang proporsyon ng mga elementong mas mabigat kaysa sa hydrogen at helium ay tumataas. Bilang karagdagan sa CO2, the atmosphere of this exoplanet should also have water, CO, and H2S. Presensya ng CO2 in the secondary atmosphere of a terrestrial exoplanet is also significant though this is not the case with WASP-39b.
Ang unang tiyak na pagtuklas ng CO2 ay mabilis na sinundan ng ulat (sa 31st August 2022) of the first images of an exoplanet kinuha sa pamamagitan ng JWST, and the first image of an exoplanet ever taken at deep infrared wavelength beyond 5 μm. This was done through coronagraphic observations of the exoplanet, HIP 65426 b, using JWST’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) and the Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI). The images of the exoplanet HIP 65426 b are quite sharp which confirms that JWST can directly image exoplanets in greater detail for enhanced understanding of the far-away planetary systems2.
Isa pang pag-unlad ang iniulat sa 1st September 2022 is the highest fidelity spectrum to date of a pamplaneta-mass object, VHS 1256 b which was observed with JWST’s NIRSpec IFU and MIRI MRS modes. Water, methane, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, sodium, and potassium were observed in the spectrum. Further, the research team directly detected silicate clouds in the atmosphere of VHS 1256 b, which is the first such detection for a pamplaneta-mass companion3.
The tools used in these studies, courtesy JWST, open door for new discoveries about exoplanets in the home kalawakan At higit pa.
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Sanggunian:
- The JWST Transiting Exoplanet Community Early Release agham koponan et al 2022. Pagkilala sa carbon dioxide sa isang exoplanet na kapaligiran. Naisumite noong 24 Ago 2022. Pre-print sa arXiv. DOI: https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2208.11692
- Carter, AL et al. 2022. The JWST Early Release Science Program for Direct Observations of Exoplanetary Systems I: High Contrast Imaging ng Exoplanet HIP 65426 b mula 2-16 μm. Preprint sa arXiv. Naisumite noong 31 Ago 2022. DOI: https://arxiv.org/abs/2208.14990
- Miles, BE et al. 2022. The JWST Early Release Science Program for Direct Observations of Exoplanetary Systems II: A 1 to 20 Micron Spectrum ng Planetary-Mass Companion VHS 1256-1257 b. Preprint sa axRiv. Naisumite noong 1 Setyembre 2022. DOI: https://arxiv.org/abs/2209.00620
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