Webb space telescope reveals a scorching “super-Earth” that looks like Mercury
Key takeaways
- Moving beyond studies of atmospheres, this work focuses on the geology of planets orbiting other stars, offering deeper insight into their nature.
- LHS 3844 b is a rocky world about 30% larger than Earth that circles a cool red dwarf star in just under 11 hours.
- "Thanks to the amazing sensitivity of JWST, we can detect light coming directly from the surface of this distant rocky planet.
Why this matters: new research or scientific developments with potential real-world impact.
Using MIRI (Mid Infrared Instrument) on board the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), an international team led by former MPIA (Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, Heidelberg, Germany) Ph D student Sebastian Zieba (Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, Cambridge, USA) and Laura Kreidberg, MPIA Director and study PI (principal investigator), investigated the surface composition of the rocky exoplanet LHS 3844 b. Moving beyond studies of atmospheres, this work focuses on the geology of planets orbiting other stars, offering deeper insight into their nature. The findings have been published in the journal Nature Astronomy.
LHS 3844 b is a rocky world about 30% larger than Earth that circles a cool red dwarf star in just under 11 hours. It orbits extremely close to its star, only about three stellar diameters above the surface. The planet is tidally locked, meaning one side permanently faces the star while the other remains in darkness. The dayside reaches an average temperature of about 1000 Kelvin (approximately 725 Degrees Celsius or 1340 Degrees Fahrenheit). The system lies relatively close to Earth at a distance of 48.5 light-years (14.9 parsecs).
"Thanks to the amazing sensitivity of JWST, we can detect light coming directly from the surface of this distant rocky planet. We see a dark, hot, barren rock, devoid of any atmosphere," said Laura Kreidberg, MPIA.