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the James Webb Space Telescope (Webb) could collect crucial information about planetary atmospheres in TRAPPIST-1 planetary systembut the biggest obstacle can be clouds, according to a new study.
The search for life and worlds that could theoretically support life as we know it on Earth depends on the ability of humans to explore and study the nooks of the cosmos away from home. Webb, which should be launched in 2021, has four main objectives: to detect the light of the first stars and galaxies that have formed in the universe, to study planetary systems, to examine the formation of stars and planetary systems and to study the origins of life. Scientists have hoped that by pursuing these goals, the telescope could also advance the search for life.
Scientists are particularly interested in the TRAPPIST-1 system because, although simulations of previous studies showed that Most of the worlds in this system are probably uninhabitable. One of them, TRAPPIST-1e, could contain liquid water and be able to support life as we know it.
Related: What would life look like on the TRAPPIST-1 planets?
The researchers in this new study simulated the TRAPPIST-1 system, a planetary system located 39 light-years away and containing seven confirmed exoplanets in orbit around an ultra-cold star, to test the potential capabilities of the telescope. They found that, theoretically, Webb could detect the atmospheres of the seven worlds of the system in less than 10 transits, or pass in front of its star host.
The team, led by Jacob Lustig-Yaeger, a PhD student in astronomy at the University of Washington, discovered that the telescope could do this with an onboard tool called a near infrared spectrograph.
Artistic illustration of the surface of a planet in the TRAPPIST-1 system, which hosts seven worlds of approximate size. NASA's James Webb Space Telescope Could Help Scientists Detect and Study Atmospheres in the TRAPPIST-1 Global System According to a New Study.
(Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech)
Astronomers detect and study exoplanets like those of TRAPPIST-1 by observing when they pass their star. By studying the light that passes through the atmosphere of a planet as it passes its star, scientists can detect the color and wavelength variations that occur when light passes through different gas from the atmosphere of the planet.
"Since each gas has a unique" spectral fingerprint, "we can identify them and begin to reconstruct the composition of the atmosphere of the" exoplanet, "said Lustig-Yaeger. said in a statement.
Scientists are particularly interested in the TRAPPIST-1 system because, although simulations of previous studies showed that Most of the worlds in this system are probably uninhabitable. One of them, TRAPPIST-1e, could contain liquid water and be able to support life as we know it.
However, the team found that even if Webb could detect and study the atmospheres of all TRAPPIST-1 planets during the first year of operation of the telescope, the clouds would greatly hinder it. "We find that transmission spectroscopy with the near-infrared spectrograph prism is optimal for detecting terrestrial atmospheres containing CO2, potentially in less than 10 transits for the seven TRAPPIST-1 planets, in the absence of 39, high altitude aerosols, "or clouds," the summary of the study States.
According to the release, Webb would need less than 10 transits to detect an atmosphere in a cloudless world, but more than 30 transits would be needed at the telescope to find a planet wrapped in thick clouds. But while clouds (which may or may not exist on TRAPPIST-1 worlds) may present a challenge, they are not a complete obstacle.
"Even in the case of high-altitude realistic clouds, the James Webb telescope will still be able to detect the presence of atmospheres – which previously was not known," said Lustig-Yaeger in the same statement.
Scientists still need to determine which atmospheres are present in TRAPPIST-1, if any. Webb could check the presence of all the atmospheres and even analyze their compositions.
"There is a big question on the ground right now: if these planets even have atmospheres, especially the deepest planets," said Lustig-Yaeger. "Once we have confirmed the presence of atmospheres, what can we learn about the atmosphere of each planet – the molecules that make it up?"
L & # 39; study was published on June 21 in the astronomical journal.
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