About 40 light-years from Earth, the exoplanet TRAPPIST-1e (pictured in the above illustration) has captured the imagination of astronomers and dreamers alike. Roughly the size of our own world, it circles its cool, red dwarf star in the so-called “Goldilocks zone,” where temperatures could allow liquid water to exist-- a crucial ingredient for life as we know it. But water alone isn’t enough. To be truly habitable by human standards, TRAPPIST-1e would need something more: an atmosphere.
That’s where NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) comes in. Using its powerful instruments, scientists have begun studying the planet as it crosses in front of its star. By analyzing the starlight that filters through, researchers can search for chemical fingerprints of an atmosphere.
What scientists do know is that TRAPPIST-1e no longer has its original hydrogen-helium envelope, likely stripped away by stellar activity. That makes the possibility of a thinner, Earth-like atmosphere especially intriguing. Fifteen more observations are planned in the coming year, each one bringing us closer to an answer. If TRAPPIST-1e does harbor a stable, life-friendly atmosphere, it would mark a milestone in our search for worlds like our own-- and possibly for life beyond Earth!