Carbon dioxide also exists outside our solar system
Carbon dioxide (CO2) is seemingly toxic but one of the vital elements for life. Scientists have been searching to find this material outside the Earth.
Only Earth’s neighboring planet, Mars, raised some hope in this regard. However, this time, NASA‘s James Webb Space Telescope Telescope claimed that the existence of carbon dioxide had been found outside our solar system.
The planet is named WASP-39b, which is known to be full of gas. NASA scientists have expressed their excitement. However, according to NASA sources, further research will continue in this regard.
The James Webb Telescope has discovered many minor planets outside our solar system since its inception. WASP-39b is one of them, located 700 light years away from Earth.
WASP-39b was first discovered in 2011. At that time, there was a play of light and shadow on the planet. Scientists then explained that another planet orbiting WASP-39b was repeatedly covering it.
Moreover, their orbits reflected the light of the nearest star. However, with the help of several modern instruments of the James Webb Telescope, a detailed description of this planet has been obtained.
The chemical composition of the gas-filled planet’s elements is now a key topic of inquiry for scientists. Images captured by the Webb Telescope’s infrared spectrograph show tiny hills of 4.1 to 4.6 microns.
The planet is a quarter of the size of Jupiter. The gas-filled planet has a temperature of around 900 degrees Celsius.
According to earlier Hubble Space Telescope data, chemical elements like water vapor, sodium, and potassium are present in them. Its distance from the nearest star is considerably less. It takes only four days to go around the star once.
Natalie Batala, a researcher at the University of California, also the research lead, said, “The direct presence of carbon dioxide in WASP-39b provided a detailed picture of its atmosphere. We can also get information about other planets; research will greatly benefit.”
