Astronomers have detected an atmosphere on an Earth-like planet

The rocky planet L 98-59 c orbits a red dwarf star 35 light-years away, considered close in cosmic terms. The planet is slightly larger than Earth and scientists believe it has an atmosphere.

Scientists say L 98-59 c may be the first world smaller than twice the diameter of Earth to be positively found to have an atmosphere. The study was published in the Astronomical Journal.

The star L 98-59, which is a red dwarf, meaning it is smaller than the Sun, is home to at least four confirmed planets that were discovered six years ago.

Focus has already written about how scientists previously studied rocky planets L 98-59 b and L 98-59 d, which are similar in size to Earth and have unique characteristics. The new study focused on planet L 98-59 c.

Scientists say it is a hot, rocky planet slightly larger than Earth, and analysis of data from the Hubble Space Telescope suggests it may have an atmosphere.

If these findings are confirmed, L 98-59 c would be the first rocky planet of its size to be found with an atmosphere, placing new constraints on the atmospheres of worlds of this size and their ability to withstand the extreme conditions created by the harsh environment of red dwarfs.

Astronomers say L 98-59 c may be the first planet smaller than twice the diameter of Earth to be confirmed to have an atmosphere.

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Previous data have shown that L 98-59 is more active than astronomers thought, radiating significantly more energy to its planets than the Sun does to Earth. Thus, L 98-59 c provides an excellent opportunity to study the atmospheres of planets not much larger than Earth that formed in the same stellar environment.

Astronomers used the Hubble telescope to observe the planet as it passed in front of its star to detect the presence of an atmosphere. Scientists say spectral analysis of light shows that there is an atmosphere, as components such as clouds that absorb or scatter light have been detected.

But these data still need to be confirmed, because determining the presence of a planet’s atmosphere in Hubble telescope data is not an easy task. The fact is that this data can be distorted by the light of the star.

Astronomers plan to conduct new observations of the planet L 98-59 c using the Hubble and Webb space telescopes to precisely confirm their findings.