The James Webb Space Telescope is an impressive instrument that recently showed the first color image of its instruments. Excitement after this event has not yet subsided, and there is another sensation. It orbits water on a distant exoplanet. Is there life there?

Water is the basis of life

at this moment, Earth is the only planet known to us where life exists. Scientists believe that the basis of any existence is Water. By following this approach, if it appears elsewhere, it is a precursor to life elsewhere. This is where the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) comes in with a real breakthrough.

Detecting life anywhere other than Earth is one of the main goals of many astronomers, but there are few who study exoplanets and astrobiology. They looked at Earth’s materials that come from an exoplanet WASP-96 B. In short – there is water there.

JWST discovered water on an exoplanet

NASA used a tool to locate the water Neres (Near infrared images and slit spectrum). After delving into the atmosphere of the aforementioned exoplanet from the Carina Nebula, they examined 141 data samples. Each of them shows a specific wavelength characteristic of water.

The NIRISS graph proves the presence of water in WASP-96 b.
Image Credit: © NASA

The NIRISS graph proves the presence of water in WASP-96 b.

These studies and data are only a small sample of the capabilities of the James Webb Space Telescope. For the first time, water on an exoplanet was detected by the Hubble Space Telescope in 2013, although the information provided by JWST is more readable. For the first time, the secrets of exoplanets are open to humanity And it’s hard to even guess what scientists can find there.

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There are more planets to live

According to theoretical astronomy, there are about 300 million planets in the Milky Way itself that we could inhabit, some of which are roughly the size of Earth. Add to that 5,000 exoplanets, hundreds of which could prove to be humanity’s new home. For now, they are in the theory area.

Water alone is not sufficient for the existence of life at the same time. The chemical composition of soil, water and atmosphere is crucial here. So what if there were seas or oceans on an alien planet if the air was polluted? Hence, it is difficult to talk about the possibility of living on an alien planet.

We look forward to receiving more data from the James Webb Space Telescope. Nobody knows what tomorrow will bring, and the first search is very interesting. The future begins today.

Marcin Watemporski, journalist at WP Tech