NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has discovered its first exoplanet — and researchers are remarking at how similar the celestial object is to Earth. LHS 475 b sits 41 light-years away from us in the constellation Octans. Details on the planet’s composition and atmosphere are still murky, but it’s a small, rocky planet, like ours, and is roughly 99% the same diameter as Earth. The only difference is it measures a few hundred degrees hotter than our temperate world. In the past, these types of planets have remained elusive to us, evading detection by even our most powerful space instruments. But that seems to no longer be the case, with the $10 billion JWST capturing LHS 475 b with ease and precision via a near-infrared spectograph. “These first observational results from an Earth-sized, rocky planet open the door to many future possibilities for studying rocky planet atmospheres with Webb,” said NASA’s Astrophysics Division director Mark Clampin. “Webb is bringing us closer and closer to a new understanding of Earth-like worlds outside the Solar System, and the mission is only just getting started.”
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