University of Leicester astronomers get new insights from a distant world

Available for over a year

Observations from the James Webb Space Telescope have re-mapped the history of a distant planet with the help of astronomy expertise from the University of Leicester. WASP-39b is an exoplanet (a planet outside of our solar system), 700 light years away from Earth. Made of gas, extremely hot, and orbiting a Sun-like star, it has fascinated scientists since its discovery a decade ago and is similar to Saturn in mass and to Jupiter in size. While WASP-39b is located too close to its star to be habitable for life, this research shows how similar techniques could be used on exoplanets where life could, or could have once, existed.