Name: What the Webb Telescope can tell us about the TRAPPIST planets
Uploaded: 2023-04-11T12:26:49.000000Z
Description: The Webb Telescope could be the key to determining whether one of the rocky exoplanets orbiting TRAPPIST-1, could support life.

What the Webb Telescope can tell us about the TRAPPIST planets

Could we finally find life on another planet?

Scientists have waited on pins and needles for more details about the TRAPPIST-1 solar system, a family of seven Earth-size planets discovered not too far away that could support life.

Now the James Webb Space Telescope, the mighty observatory in the sky run by NASA and the European and Canadian space agencies, is delivering some of that much-anticipated data. Astronomers just released the first results from an atmospheric study of one of the rocky exoplanets orbiting TRAPPIST-1, the host star just 41 light-years from Earth.

Topics NASA

Elisha Sauers

Elisha Sauers writes about space for Mashable, taking deep dives into NASA's moon and Mars missions, chatting up astronauts and history-making discoverers, and jetting above the clouds. Through 17 years of reporting, she's covered a variety of topics, including health, business, and government, with a penchant for public records requests. She previously worked for The Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk, Virginia, and The Capital in Annapolis, Maryland. Her work has earned numerous state awards, including the Virginia Press Association's top honor, Best in Show, and national recognition for narrative storytelling. For each year she has covered space, Sauers has won National Headliner Awards, including first place for her Sex in Space series. Send space tips and story ideas to [email protected] or text 443-684-2489. Follow her on X at @elishasauers.