Previously, researchers have detected magnetic fields on exoplanets similar in size to Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system. “Whether a planet survives with an atmosphere or not can depend on whether the planet has a strong magnetic field or not,” Pineda said. In order for the radio waves to be detectable on Earth, they must be very strong, the researchers said. Magnetic fields can prevent a planet’s atmosphere from being diminished and essentially eroded away over time as particles release from the star and bombard it, Pineda said. “When we saw it again, it was very indicative that, OK, maybe we really have something here.” “We saw the initial burst and it looked beautiful,” said lead study author Sebastian Pineda, a research astrophysicist at the University of Colorado Boulder, in a statement. James Webb Space Telescope discovers its first exoplanet LHS 475 b is relatively close, 41 light-years away, in the constellation Octans. Researchers will follow up this summer with additional observations with Webb, which they hope will allow them to definitively conclude if the planet has an atmosphere. The planet whips around its star in just two days, far faster than any planet in the Solar System. Based on new evidence from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope, this illustration reflects the conclusion that the exoplanet LHS 475 b is rocky and almost precisely the same size as Earth.
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