▲ Analysis of the atmosphere of the exoplanet WASP-96b
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration ( NASA
) announced on the 12th local time that it has identified water in the form of water vapor on an exoplanet 1,150 light-years away from Earth through the James Webb Space Telescope, the next-generation space telescope (JWST.
announced today at the Goddard Space Center in Maryland, where NASA has found water vapor in the planet's atmosphere after analyzing the
spectral
data of the exoplanet WASP-96 b using the Webb telescope.
It refers to the work of analyzing the wavelength of light to reveal atmospheric constituents, etc. The
Webb telescope observed WASP-96 b and the phenomenon that occurs when the planet's atmosphere passes in front of the star, and found that water vapor exists in the planet's atmosphere. "The Webb telescope has captured distinct features of water along with clouds and haze in the atmosphere surrounding exoplanets," NASA said
.
"This confirms the Webb telescope's unprecedented atmospheric analysis capabilities."
WASP-96 b is a gas giant located in the constellation Phoenix, about half the mass of Jupiter.
Discovered in 2014, this planet orbits the star with an orbital cycle of 3 to 4 days
(Photo = NASA Twitter capture, Yonhap News)