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As of September 2025, the James Webb Space Telescope has discovered and directly imaged several new "alien worlds" while also investigating the atmosphere of the potentially habitable exoplanet TRAPPIST-1e. This information reflects multiple, distinct astronomical milestones for the telescope.

TRAPPIST-1e, located approximately 40 light-years away from Earth, was initially discovered by a team of astronomers headed by Michaël Gillon using the TRAPPIST (Transiting Planets and Planetesimals Small Telescope) telescope at the La Silla Observatory in the Atacama Desert, Chile, to search for orbiting planets.

The team made their observations from September - December 2015 and published its findings in the May 2016 issue of the journal Nature. Initial analyses from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) suggest that the Earth-sized exoplanet TRAPPIST-1e might have a nitrogen and methane atmosphere, though a bare-rock planet without an atmosphere cannot be ruled out.

Scientists used the JWST's Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) to observe TRAPPIST-1e as it transited, or passed in front of, its star, the red dwarf TRAPPIST-1. The light from the star passing through the planet's atmosphere revealed the planet's atmospheric composition.

Early data suggests two primary possibilities for TRAPPIST-1e: a bare-rock planet with no atmosphere, or one with a secondary atmosphere rich in nitrogen and potentially trace amounts of methane. The intense radiation from the active red dwarf star likely stripped away any primordial hydrogen-helium atmosphere the planet may have once had.

The data strongly suggests the planet does not have a thick, hydrogen-heavy atmosphere like Jupiter, or a dense carbon dioxide-rich atmosphere like Venus. The planet's host star is highly active, producing flares and star spots that can interfere with atmospheric measurements.

Researchers filtered out this stellar contamination by comparing observations of TRAPPIST-1e with those of TRAPPIST-1b, a neighbouring planet known to be a bare rock. Scientists plan to observe an additional 15 transits of the planet to gather more conclusive data and determine if it truly has an atmosphere.

References Gough, E. (2025, September 14). The Exoplanet TRAPPIST-1e Takes Its Turn in the JWST’s Spotlight. Phys.Org. NASA Webb Mission Team. (2025, September 8). NASA Webb Looks at Earth-Sized Habitable-Zone Exoplanets TRAPPIST-1e. NASA. (2025, September 16).

TRAPPIST-1e. In Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TRAPPIST-1e

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Coram Deo — before the face of God. This blog reflects on Scripture, world events, science, music, psychology, and the human mind — always through the lens of Christian faith. All of life is lived before the face of God.