James Webb space observatory discovers CO2 on an alien planet
Image Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, Joseph Olmsted
We never detected the presence of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of an exoplanet. At least, not until now. In another first, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST or Webb) has changed that in its first campaign focusing on exoplanets. The marquee telescope made the discovery while observing a gas giant called WASP-39 b, which is located 700 light-years away from Earth.