On October 25, 2023, NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) made a groundbreaking discovery by detecting water vapor in the atmosphere of the exoplanet LHS 475 b, located approximately 41 light-years away in the constellation Octans.
This observation marks the first time water has been confirmed on a planet that closely resembles Earth in size and temperature.
Researchers utilized JWST's Near Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) to analyze the light passing through the planet's atmosphere as it transited in front of its host star. The data revealed clear spectral signatures consistent with water.
LHS 475 b is classified as a super-Earth, with a diameter roughly 1.1 times that of Earth, and it orbits its star every 2.5 days. The presence of water vapor raises significant questions about the planet's potential for habitability.
This discovery is a pivotal step in the ongoing search for life beyond our solar system, providing valuable data that could help scientists understand the atmospheric conditions on similar exoplanets.