TRAPPIST-1 is a red dwarf star with extremely low surface temperature and faint, about 39 light years (12 seconds difference) from Earth.
Previously, astronomers found seven planets around this star and numbered them TRAPPIST-1b, c, d, e, f, g, and h.
All seven planets are located in or near the habitable zone of TRAPPIST-1, and thus contribute to the study of potentially habitable planets outside our solar system.
The results of the first JWST observations of these seven planets were presented by scientists from the University of Montreal, Canada, at the first Webb Space Telescope (JWST) results workshop in Baltimore, Maryland, USA, on December 13, local time.
In June of this year, JWST began observing the planets.
For TRAPPIST-1g, which JWST has now determined may not have a hydrogen-rich atmosphere.
This means that the planet may have a denser atmosphere, composed of heavier molecules like carbon dioxide, or it may not have an atmosphere at all.
In addition, they showed two observations of the innermost planet of the system, TRAPPIST-1b, by JWST, but also failed to sort out the signal of the planet’s atmosphere.
However, preliminary studies suggest that it, like planet TRAPPIST-1g, may not have a fluffy, hydrogen-rich atmosphere.
In the future, scientists will further analyze the data collected so far and make more observations with JWST.
