James Webb Telescope gives insight into exoplanet's atmosphere

In yet another discovery by the James Webb Space Telescope, scientists have revealed the atmosphere of the exoplanet 55 Cancri e which is located at the distance of 41 light years away from the Earth.

55 Cancri e is orbiting its star which lies in the constellation of Cancer as scientists attempt to find traces of life outside our solar system.

The exoplanet has extremely high temperatures and receives a considerable amount of radiation from its star but the rocky body’s atmosphere has resilience to sustain such extremities.

The findings were published in the journal Nature.

According to Sky Night Magazine, the planet orbits very close to its star which may likely suggest that there is a deep ocean of molten magma, and takes just 18 hours to complete its one circle, unlike Earth’s 365 days.

The rocky super-Earth is a tidally locked body with one side facing light and the other in complete darkness.

"Instead, the MIRI data showed a relatively low temperature of about 1,500°C (2,730°F) Celsius," noted Renyu Hu from Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

The author, Brice-Olivier Demory from the Center for Space and Habitability CSH of the University of Bern, said: "55 Cancri e is one of the most enigmatic exoplanets,"

Demory added: "Despite enormous amounts of observing time obtained with a dozen of ground and space facilities in the past decade, its very nature has remained elusive, until today, when parts of the puzzle could finally be put together thanks to the James Webb Space Telescope."

"This is a very strong indication that energy is being distributed from the dayside to the nightside, most likely by a volatile-rich atmosphere."

The findings revealed that temperatures are not as much as it was anticipated.