'Super-Earth' planet shows signs it could have an atmosphere

Key Points:

• Scientists have detected signs that the super-Earth exoplanet LHS 1140b, orbiting a star 49 light-years away, may have an atmosphere, making it a strong candidate for potential habitability.
• LHS 1140b is located in the habitable "Goldilocks zone," has about five times Earth's mass, and appears to be predominantly rocky with a density suggesting an iron core and silicate mantle.
• Using the Magellan Clay telescope, researchers observed helium escaping from the planet in 2024, indicating it may have lost hydrogen but retained helium in its atmosphere, a first for a rocky planet in a habitable zone around a red dwarf star.
• Follow-up observations in 2025 did not detect helium, raising questions about atmospheric variability, but upcoming studies with more sensitive instruments, including the James Webb Space Telescope, aim to confirm and expand on these findings.
• Experts caution that the helium detection needs confirmation before concluding the presence of a substantial atmosphere, but if verified, it would be a landmark discovery supporting the possibility of habitable rocky planets around red dwarfs.