TRAPPIST-1e Methane Signal Likely False, Webb Data Suggests Airless Planet
The TRAPPIST-1 planetary system, located about 39 light-years from Earth, hosts seven rocky worlds orbiting a cool red dwarf star. While several of these Earth-sized planets lie in the star’s habitable zone, new observations from the James Webb Space Telescope suggest their atmospheres may be too thin to support life. Earlier hints of methane around TRAPPIST-1e now appear to be background noise, strengthening the case that intense stellar radiation has likely stripped these planets of the gases needed to maintain surface water.
