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TRAPPIST-1e shows signs of an Earth-like atmosphere, may have liquid water oceans or icy surface

TRAPPIST-1 is a star system that comprises of seven Earth sized planets, out of which three are in the Goldilocks zone.

This artist’s concept shows the volatile red dwarf star TRAPPIST-1 and its four most closely orbiting planets, all of which have been observed by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. Webb has found no definitive signs of an atmosphere around any of these worlds yet. Artwork: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Joseph Olmsted (STScI)

Scientists have discovered a new planet that may have all the right conditions to sustain life. Spotted by NASA’s James Webb Telescope, researchers at Cornell University have said that the planet may have an atmosphere similar to our own, meaning it could potentially have liquid water on its surface, either in the form of an ocean or ice.

The planet is part of the TRAPPIST-1, a small red dwarf star system that features at least seven planets and is 40 light-years away. First discovered in 2016, the star system has been studied by astronomers for years, as it lies in the Goldilocks zone, which is essentially a habitable zone around the star. However, the excitement faded away after two of the three planets in the Goldilocks zone were found to have no atmosphere.

“TRAPPIST-1 is a very different star from our Sun, and so the planetary system around it is also very different, which challenges both our observational and theoretical assumptions,” said Nikole Lewis, a professor of astronomy at Cornell University and the principal investigator of the program.

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Out of the Earth-sized worlds orbiting TRAPPIST-1, researchers aimed the James Webb Space Telescope’s near infrared spectrograph at TRAPPIST-1e and studied the planet’s atmospheric contents to determine if it could potentially host life.

Last week, researchers said that while the planet likely does not have a primary atmosphere, they think it has a secondary atmosphere like our Earth. If it exists, it would most likely be made up of nitrogen and methane, but as of now, additional observations are required to study the atmosphere’s contents. The study also suggests that if there is liquid water on TRAPPIST-1e, it would be accompanied by a greenhouse effect.

According to Ryan MacDonald, a professor at the University of St. Andrews, UK, the next step would be to confirm the presence of nitrogen in the planet’s atmosphere and then look further for gases like methane or carbon dioxide. However, researchers say that it is still too early to say anything for sure, which is why they will be carrying out 15 more observations over the next year..