Credit: ILLUSTRATION: NASA, ESA, CSA, Joseph Olmsted (STScI) SCIENCE: Sarah E. Moran (University of Arizona), Kevin B. Stevenson (APL), Ryan MacDonald (University of Michigan), Jacob A. Lustig-Yaeger (APL)

This graphic shows the transmission spectrum obtained by Webb observations of rocky exoplanet GJ 486 b. The science team’s analysis shows hints of water vapor; however, computer models show that the signal could be from a water-rich planetary atmosphere (indicated by the blue line) or from starspots from the red dwarf host star (indicated by the yellow line). The two models diverge noticeably at shorter infrared wavelengths, indicating that additional observations with other Webb instruments will be needed to constrain the source of the water signal.

The background illustration of a planet is an artist concept. Webb has not taken an image of the planet.

Provider: Space Telescope Science Institute

Image Source: https://webbtelescope.org/contents/news-releases/2023/news-2023-120

Curator: STScI, Baltimore, MD, USA

Image Use Policy: http://stsci.edu/copyright/