\n<\/p>\n
In July 2022, just six days after NASA declared that the James Webb Space Telescope was ready for full science operations, the observatory aimed its gold-plated mirrors at a star named TRAPPIST-1.<\/p>\n
Located 40 light-years away from Earth, TRAPPIST-1 has seven known planets. At least three are in the star\u2019s habitable zone, the not-too-hot, not-too-cold region where liquid water can exist on a body\u2019s surface. This makes them prime targets in the search for Earthlike worlds. <\/p>\n
TRAPPIST-1 is a red dwarf, a type of star that is small, dim, and cool (by stellar standards). Roughly three-fourths of the stars in the Milky Way are red dwarfs. If TRAPPIST-1 swapped places with our Sun, its habitable zone would fit entirely within the orbit of Mercury. Although planets there would be at the right temperature for liquid water, they could also be bathed in radiation harmful to life as we know it. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe missing piece is whether the habitable zone of a red dwarf is truly habitable because it\u2019s so close to the star,\u201d said Jessie Christiansen, a research scientist at the NASA Exoplanet Science Institute.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s where JWST comes in. The space telescope can scan the
\natmospheres of certain exoplanets as they transit in front of their
\nstars, looking for chemical compounds linked to the presence of life. <\/p>\n
JWST
\ncould not initially determine whether TRAPPIST-1b, the planet closest
\nto the star, has an atmosphere. Scientists saw intense magnetic activity
\nand solar flares during their observations, which contaminated their
\ndata and raised questions on whether life could survive on any worlds
\nnear the star. <\/p>\n
TRAPPIST-1c sits near the inner edge of the
\nhabitable zone and has been theorized to be Venuslike. But JWST
\nobservations found little evidence for a thick carbon dioxide
\natmosphere, leading scientists to hypothesize that the planet formed
\nwith very little water. Results are still pending for TRAPPIST-1d, e,
\nand f, the three planets inside the habitable zone, said Christiansen. <\/p>\n
\u201cSo
\nas of yet, JWST has not unlocked this mystery of whether rocky
\nexoplanets around red dwarf stars can have atmospheres,\u201d she said. \u201cI
\nexpect this year we will come one step closer to that answer.\u201d <\/p>\n
JWST
\nis just one instrument in a broad toolkit scientists use to search for
\nand characterize Earthlike exoplanets. New, powerful ground-based
\nobservatories are set to come online soon while the scientific community
\neyes the development of the Habitable Worlds Observatory, a \u201csuper
\nHubble\u201d designed to directly image dozens of Earthlike worlds in their
\nstars\u2019 habitable zones.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n