JAKARTA – The United States Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced that the James Webb Space Telescope discovered methane content in one of exoplanet.
The methane was detected in the atmosphere of WASP-80b, a planet half the size of Jupiter. This planet orbits a K-type main sequence star which is currently about 1.5 billion years old and is 162 light years away.
James Webb managed to detect methane as it passed in front of and behind its parent star. At that time, James Webb detected a spectrum from the atmosphere of WASP-80b which appeared to contain methane gas and water vapor.
With the presence of this molecule, astronomers immediately researched the methane they found and compared it with other methane findings in the atmospheres of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.
Methane is an important molecule in the search for signs of life on other planets, both in the Solar System and on exoplanet. Methane can be a sign of life if it is present in large masses.
Sciencealert said that methane is not difficult to make. Therefore, methane is one of the most frequently found molecules in the Solar System, but it is still not very abundant.
Even though it is a common finding, there are not many exoplanet which has methane. Therefore, astronomers need to change their views regarding methane as a biological signature if this molecule continues to be detected in the atmosphere exoplanet.
“When we found methane and other gases in exoplanetwe will expand our knowledge of how chemistry and physics work under conditions unlike those we experience on Earth,” wrote the James Webb researchers in a NASA release.
WASP-80b research is still being carried out by astronomers today. The discovery of this methane might provide answers to how WASP-80b was formed and how the planet evolved.
“With such a compelling detection, not only have we discovered a highly elusive molecule, but we can now begin to explore what this chemical composition can tell us about the birth, growth and evolution of this planet.”
2023-11-24 09:05:00
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