2023-06-26 09:37:39
[이데일리 김혜선 기자] Humanity has been trying to discover the ‘2 Earth’ hidden in the universe since long ago. If there is a planet with an atmosphere and water like Earth in the universe, the probability that ‘alien life’ can live there increases. So when the red dwarf ‘TRAPPIST-1’ located in Aquarius, regarding 40 light-years away from Earth, was discovered, the scientific world was stirred. This small red dwarf had seven companion planets, six of which were rocky like Earth. Seven planets are spinning around Trappist-1 like the solar system. Imaginary rendering of Trappist-1c recently observed by James Webb. Trappist-1b and the red dwarf TRAPPIST-1 are seen together. (Photo=NASA, ESA, CSA, Joseph Olmsted (STScI)) These seven planets are named in alphabetical order until Trappist-1b,c,d,e,f,g,h. Because it was so far away, it was impossible to determine whether the planet had an atmosphere or not. Beyond the looming phase, scientists have deduced that TRAPPIST-1b and TRAPPIST-1c have thick atmospheres. SETI, a private extraterrestrial civilization exploration organization, searched through 10 billion radio channels from TRAPPIST-1 in 2016 with the Allen telescope in anticipation of possible life. In the end, no signal was found, but it was a point where you might guess how high the expectation that extraterrestrial life existed in TRAPPIST-1. Observing the planets closely. However, it has not yet been discovered that there is a possibility that extraterrestrial life can exist on any planet. Rather, observations have shown that there is no ‘atmosphere’ on some planets of TRAPPIST-1. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced last January that an international research team led by astrophysicist Dr. measured its temperature, and concluded that Trappist-1b had virtually no atmosphere. Trappist-1b is the planet closest to the red dwarf. On the 20th (local time), the NASA blog reported that Trappist-1c, which is the second closest to the red dwarf, is also unlikely to have an atmosphere. . Trappist-1c is consistent with either a rocky planet without an atmosphere, or a planet with a very thin carbon dioxide (CO2) atmosphere than Earth and Mars, the researchers explained. “James Webb noticed 4 out of 10,000 light bulbs turned off.” Could James Webb observe the planetary atmosphere of Trappist-1, which has not been observed by any telescope? The secret is James Webb’s mid-infrared ray (MIRI). Existing telescopes might only study planets with thick, hydrogen-rich atmospheres, but the researchers explained that James Webb can also observe atmospheres that are mostly oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide. used to measure the planet’s temperature. Since these planets always have one side facing the red dwarf, the same side is always visible when the planet is positioned in front of the red dwarf or hidden behind the red dwarf. difference in light. (Photo = NASA, ESA, CSA, Joseph Olmsted (STScI)) The research team observed the moment before the planet completely hid behind the red dwarf, measured its brightness, and measured the brightness when it was placed in front of the red dwarf and the starlight was slightly obscured and darkened. . The change in brightness during the ‘second solar eclipse’ of TRAPPIST-1c is only 0.04%, meaning that James Webb detected that 4 bulbs out of 10,000 were turned off. “James Webb allows us to compare exoplanets with the solar system in a way that has never been done before,” said the researchers. These observations led the researchers to conclude that the TRAPPIST-1b and TRAPPIST-1c planets have almost no atmosphere. paid If there is an atmosphere, the temperature is transferred through convection, so whether the planet is in front of or behind the red dwarf, the temperature does not change much. However, in this observation, the temperature has changed as much as the planet with no or almost no atmosphere. It is still too early to be disappointed. The researchers plan to observe other planets with a higher probability of existence of extraterrestrial life through James Webb.
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#Mini #Solar #System #Aquarius #James #Webb #Explores #Earth
