Researchers say they have confirmed an exoplanet—a planet orbiting another star—using NASA’s new James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) for the very first time.
The planet, known as “LHS 475 b”, is almost exactly the same size as Earth. Researchers say the planet is a few hundred degrees warmer than Earth.
Presenting their findings at an American Astronomical Society (AAS) event in Seattle on Jan. 11, researchers from Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHUAPL) described how they used the next-generation Webb telescope to confirm an exoplanet.
LHS 475 b is relatively close, only about 41 light-years away, in the Octans constellation.
Webb’s Near-Infrared Spectrograph instrument captured two transit observations—as the planet passed in front of its star, slightly dimming its light—in August and September last year….