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<\/p>\nOver the past five months, the James Webb Space Telescope and the joint NASA, European Space Agency, and Canadian Space Agency teams behind the project have been working towards the completion of the observatory\u2019s six-month-long commissioning phase at the Sun-Earth Lagrange point 2 (L2). With the observatory\u2019s mirrors recently completing alignment, Webb and its teams are preparing for the all-important and historic first image from the observatory.<\/p>\n
As teams continue to work towards completing commissioning, some of the first scientific research targets of Webb\u2019s operational phase have been announced, including two strange and intriguing exoplanets that exhibit unique characteristics.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
After launching in December 2021, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) successfully deployed its mirror assemblies and arrived on station at L2. It has since been undergoing checkout and commissioning operations ahead of beginning its science mission.<\/p>\n
Once Webb is finally ready for operations, it will release its first images which will be focused on bright stars. While Webb\u2019s first images will undoubtedly contain some data of scientific interest, their goal is not to investigate or research these stars. Instead, they will be used to confirm that Webb as a whole is performing as expected at L2 and that there are no issues with the observatory\u2019s complex optical systems.<\/p>\n
After confirming that all of the optical and structural systems are operating as planned, James Webb\u2019s commissioning phase will be complete and the observatory will assume operational status. Webb and its science teams have already lined up a plethora of research targets for the first few weeks of the observatory\u2019s operational phase, some of which may produce images as we\u2019ve never seen before from other telescopes.<\/p>\n
Among the many research targets outlined for Webb\u2019s first few weeks of operation are two exoplanets that exhibit unique characteristics: 55 Cancri e and LHS 3844 b.<\/p>\n
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55 Cancri e and LHS 3488 b compared to Earth and Neptune. (Credit: NASA\/ESA\/CSA\/Dani Player (STScI))<\/p>\n
55 Cancri e is an extremely hot super-Earth exoplanet located 41 light-years away in the constellation Cancer, where it orbits its Sun-like parent star 55 Cancri A. The exoplanet is around double the diameter of Earth and is around 8.63 Earth masses. At the time of its discovery in August 2004, it was the first super-Earth to be found.<\/p>\n
SpaceX launch tickets (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});<\/p>\n Orbiting just 1.5 million miles from 55 Cancri A, the exoplanet completes one orbit around its parent star in just 18 hours and is thought to feature oceans of lava on its dayside due to its extremely hot surface temperatures.<\/p>\n What\u2019s more, 55 Cancri e is likely tidally locked due to its close proximity to 55 Cancri A. This would be expected to ensure that the parts of the surface facing the star most directly would be the hottest region of the planet. Telescope data from NASA\u2019s Spitzer Space Telescope, however, suggests otherwise \u2013 showing that the exoplanet\u2019s hottest region is offset from this position. Spitzer data also indicates that the total amount of heat on the dayside of the planet varies.<\/p>\n So why is this? Why wouldn\u2019t the hottest region of 55 Cancri e be the region facing its parent star most directly?<\/p>\n One of the leading theories behind the Spitzer observations is that 55 Cancri e may have a thick and dynamic atmosphere that moves heat around the planet from various regions. Another theory behind the occurrence could be that 55 Cancri e isn\u2019t actually tidally locked, and is instead more like Mercury: orbiting on its axis three times for every two orbits it completes around 55 Cancri A in what is called a 3:2 resonance.<\/p>\n \u201cThat could explain why the hottest part of the planet is shifted,\u201d explained Alexis Brandeker of Stockholm University when discussing the 3:2 resonance theory. \u201cJust like on Earth, it would take time for the surface to heat up. The hottest time of the day would be in the afternoon, not right at noon.\u201d<\/p>\n Furthermore, the 3:2 resonance scenario would cause 55 Cancri e\u2019s surface to heat up, melt, and vaporize into the exoplanet\u2019s atmosphere. When the vapor eventually cools in the evening, it could condense and form droplets of lava that would subsequently rain onto the exoplanet\u2019s surface.<\/p>\n<\/p>\nSee Also<\/h4>\n
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