Published in Nature · View the paper (DOI)
A recent study suggests that 55 Cancri e's atmosphere may be composed of carbon-rich vapor, contradicting its initial uninhabitable status. The discovery was made possible by the James Webb Space Telescope and demonstrates the potential for future telescopes to study distant rocky planets in detail.
Coverage from 3 institutions
- New study finds evidence of an atmosphere on a rocky planet for the first time University of New Mexico · May 8, 2024 · first to report
- NASA’s Webb hints at possible atmosphere surrounding rocky exoplanet NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center · May 8, 2024
- Hints of a possible atmosphere around a rocky exoplanet University of Bern · May 10, 2024