Webb’s latest data gives us the first molecular and chemical profile of a distant world, gas giant WASP-39 b. This bodes well for its ability to probe the atmospheres of small, rocky planets like in the TRAPPIST-1 system.

‍We learn about exoplanet atmospheres by breaking their light into components and creating spectra. Think of a spectrum as a barcode. Elements and molecules have characteristic signatures in that “barcode” we can read.

WASP-39 b is an old friend! In August, Webb showed the first clear evidence of carbon dioxide in a planet outside our solar system. New data from the same planet also shows water, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, sodium and potassium.

‍What else does the data tell us?
🥇 First detection of sulfur dioxide in an exoplanet atmosphere
💡 Concrete evidence of photochemistry (fundamental for life on Earth)
☁️ Its clouds may be broken up, not one uniform blanket
🔎 Clues to how the planet formed

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