The Webb Telescope (JWST) has observed for the first time a set of highly anticipated targets — seven Earth-sized planets orbiting the star TRAPPIST-1, as well as the atmospheres surrounding some of the planets. The seven planets are located about 39.13 light-years from Earth, in or near the star’s habitable zone, where liquid water may exist. Astronomers consider them the best-known laboratories for studying exoplanets suitable for life. So far, these are preliminary results that don’t say what the atmospheres of these planets actually contain. But if those atmospheric layers contain carbon dioxide or methane, JWST will be able to detect them for months and years to come. JWST studies planetary atmospheres primarily by observing how planets filter light as they pass in front of their stars: specific molecules absorb starlight in unique ways. The molecules that make up an atmosphere can indicate how a planet evolved and whether there is life on its surface.
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