First glimpse of 7-planet system with potentially habitable worlds

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has turned its incredible observing power onto one of the most exciting targets in space: the atmospheres of seven Earth-sized planets circling the star TRAPPIST-1. The planets lie in its ‘goldilocks’ zone, where temperatures are right for liquid water — and possibly life — to exist. The first results from two of the planets show that neither has a hydrogen-rich atmosphere. That could mean that they have denser atmospheres that are made of molecules such as carbon dioxide or methane, or no atmosphere at all.