LHS 1140b Super‑Earth Shows Signs of Atmosphere

LHS 1140b super‑Earth atmosphere detection helium spectroscopy habitable zone

Astronomers have detected a helium‑rich upper atmosphere on the rocky exoplanet LHS 1140b, a super‑Earth about five times the mass of Earth located roughly 48–49 light‑years from Earth. The planet orbits a red‑dwarf star within its star’s habitable (Goldilocks) zone, where surface temperatures could allow liquid water.

The detection was made during a rare alignment in September 2024 using the Magellan Clay telescope in Chile with the Warm Infrared Echelle (WINERED) spectrograph. Lead author Collin Cherubim, a NASA Sagan Fellow at the University of Chicago who performed the work while a PhD student at Harvard, reported a metastable helium signal escaping from the planet’s upper atmosphere. The findings were published on 16 July 2024 in the journal Science.

If confirmed, this would be the first confirmed atmosphere on a rocky planet in another star’s habitable zone, extending earlier exoplanet discoveries that have identified over 6 200 worlds since the 1990s. The only prior exoplanet atmosphere detection was a 2001 Hubble observation of a gas‑giant 150 light‑years away.

Entities

Collin Cherubim · Harvard University · LHS 1140b · Magellan Clay Telescope · NASA · University of Chicago

Claims

What the coverage asserts, and how many sources carry each claim.

[● 4 SOURCES] In 2001 the Hubble Space Telescope detected an atmosphere on a gas‑giant exoplanet about 150 light‑years away. www.cnnbrasil.com.br · time.news · abc17news.com · keyt.com
[● 4 SOURCES] LHS 1140b is a super‑Earth with about five times Earth’s mass. www.cnnbrasil.com.br · time.news · abc17news.com · keyt.com
[● 4 SOURCES] Collin Cherubim, a NASA Sagan Fellow at the University of Chicago, led the study and conducted the research during his PhD at Harvard University. www.cnnbrasil.com.br · time.news · abc17news.com · keyt.com
[● 4 SOURCES] The findings were published on 16 July 2024 in the journal Science. www.cnnbrasil.com.br · time.news · abc17news.com · keyt.com
[● 4 SOURCES] If confirmed, this would be the first atmosphere detected on a rocky exoplanet in another star’s habitable zone. www.cnnbrasil.com.br · time.news · abc17news.com · keyt.com
[● 3 SOURCES] Scientists detected escaping helium in LHS 1140b’s upper atmosphere using the Magellan Clay telescope in Chile. time.news · keyt.com · kioncentralcoast.com
[● 4 SOURCES] LHS 1140b orbits a red‑dwarf star about 48–49 light‑years from Earth within the habitable zone. www.cnnbrasil.com.br · time.news · abc17news.com · keyt.com
[○ 1 SOURCE] The detection employed the WINERED spectrograph for transit spectroscopy. time.news