Wiretapping a Star: How a Naked Planet Helps Find Air express
Original: "JWST TRAPPIST-1 e/b Program: Motivation and first observations"
Astronomers pulled a clever trick: an airless planet became a microphone, recording only the star's static.
Eavesdropping on a distant planet's atmosphere is hampered by the star's noise. In the TRAPPIST-1 system, astronomers used a planet-"bug": TRAPPIST-1 b — an airless neighbor that records only the interference. By subtracting this recording from the signal of planet TRAPPIST-1 e, we can isolate the pure voice of its air.
The method works when the star is calm. But as soon as it flares, the interference changes faster than we can subtract it. A single flare can double TRAPPIST-1's brightness for a couple of minutes — and the whole delicate calculation collapses.
Initial observations by James Webb proved the idea works: on quiet days, no traces of air are seen, as expected. But the star's whims continue a game of broken telephone. The search for an atmosphere on TRAPPIST-1 e goes on — hoping to catch the star in a good mood.
The TRAPPIST-1 system is so compact that all its planets could fit inside Mercury's orbit. A year on TRAPPIST-1 e lasts just 6 Earth days.
Scientists
Christian DopplerD. B. McLaughlinDidier QuelozMichel MayorR. A. RossiterDavid Charbonneaujwst exoplanet atmospheres
trappist 1
JWST
james webb space telescope
transit spectroscopy
exoplanet atmospheres
tess
habitable worlds observatory
transit method
carbon monoxide
space telescope
earth
cosmic dust analysis
astronomical observation
lsst
TAO/TRITON moorings
solar corona observation
Satellite layers
hot jupiter
stellar wobble