Webb finds a surprising atmosphere on a scorching lava world

The James Webb Space Telescope has found strong evidence that the rocky lava world HD 3167 b has an atmosphere, despite circling its star every 24 hours under extreme heat. The surprising discovery could help scientists understand how rocky planets retain atmospheres and what the young, molten Earth may once have looked like. Webb finds a surprising atmosphere on a scorching lava world.

Com For scientists searching for life beyond Earth, rocky planets with atmospheres are among the most promising places to investigate. An atmosphere is essential for maintaining liquid water on a planet’s surface. Yet among the more than 6,300 exoplanets cataloged thus far, most are not rocky, and only a small number of known rocky planets appear to possess atmospheres.

Now, researchers have added another world to that short list. In a study published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, a team led by University of Chicago scientist Brandon Park Coy reports evidence of an atmosphere surrounding HD 3167 b, a rocky super-Earth located 154 light-years away in the constellation Pisces. The intensely hot planet, classified as a "lava world," completes an orbit around its star in only one Earth day.