Abu Dhabi: «The Gulf»
Yasmina Blecic, a researcher and scientist at New York University Abu Dhabi, is part of the team of scientists supervising the program for the dissemination of preliminary scientific data for transiting exoplanets for the James Webb Telescope project. The team’s efforts resulted in monitoring evidence of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of an exoplanet, What constitutes an unprecedented scientific achievement.
The James Webb telescope succeeded in monitoring the ultra-fine, gentle near-infrared radiation emanating through the atmosphere of an exoplanet gaseous giant located regarding 700 light years from the solar system. Scientists have determined the radiation emissions of the planet “WASP-39 b” on the basis of a set of data collected The semi-infrared imaging device in the telescope, which constitutes an unprecedented trio of scientific achievements: the first scientific survey of an extrasolar planet by the telescope, the first observation of near-infrared radiation within this range specifically for an exoplanet, and the first evidence of the existence of Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of a distant planet. These results indicate the ability of the telescope to monitor these molecules as carbon dioxide in various types of exoplanets, including small rocky planets, which enables scientists to reach conclusions regarding their nature, formation and evolution of planets in galaxies.
The planet “WASP-39 b” is a type of hot gas giant planet, and its size is larger than the size of Jupiter; With a diameter of 1.3 times that of Jupiter, which is four times larger, the planet’s massiveness is partly due to its high temperature of 900 degrees Celsius or 1600 degrees Fahrenheit due to its close orbit around the central star of the group, while Mercury (a gaseous planet with its density and low its relative temperature) around the sun at a distance equal to eight times the distance between the planet “WASP-39 b” and the star.
Previous studies carried out by the Hubble and Spitzer telescopes and others of this planet indicated the presence of water vapor, sodium and potassium in its atmosphere. The James Webb telescope, with its precise infrared devices for monitoring infrared radiation, succeeded in detecting carbon dioxide as well.
At New York University Abu Dhabi, the Exoplanet Research Team, which includes team leader Ian Dobbs-Dixon and researcher Jasmina Blecic, is working on analyzing the data collected by observatories of all kinds during these stages to decipher the mysteries of these distant planets and their atmosphere in terms of temperature, composition, currents and clouds.
One of the first stages of the project following the launch of the telescope, the James Webb telescope team identified the planet “WASP-39 b” as one of the main subjects of the study, and the scientists detected a slight mutation in the data by 4.1 to 4.6 microns, and thus inferred the presence of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of the planet. This was a scientific breakthrough, as WASP-39 b became the first planet outside the solar system in which the presence of this gas was proven.
Experts say this discovery indicates our ability to study the atmospheres of planets smaller and closer to Earth, says Natalie Battaglia, principal investigator for the telescope team at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and Mike Lane, one of the team members from Arizona State University stated: Carbon dioxide molecules are essential clues to the stages of planet formation.”
The study of near-infrared radiation is only part of a large project centered on the planet “WASP-39 b”. The James Webb Telescope carries a number of other instruments that will contribute to the observation of three transiting planets.
In addition to Yasmina Blecic and Ian Dobbs-Dixon, the team at New York University Abu Dhabi includes research scientist Mohamed Ali Deeb, who is working on another project related to the James Webb Space Telescope. on the data monitored by the endoscope.
