A rocky exoplanet with an atmosphere

Astronomers have spotted a rocky exoplanet that looks likely to have an atmosphere — and could be a host for life. The planet, LHS 1140b, appears to have a helium-rich upper atmosphere and sits in the habitable zone around a star, the area in which an orbiting planet could maintain liquid water on its surface. Researchers can’t say for sure whether there is water on the exoplanet, but the findings constitute an “amazing missing piece of the puzzle” as to whether rocky exoplanets can have atmospheres, says astrophysicist Sara Seager.