from Hacker News

JWST: Identification of carbon dioxide in an exoplanet atmosphere

by sanketpatrikar on 8/27/22, 9:36 AM with 68 comments

• by sgt101 on 8/27/22, 12:50 PM

  I would like them to find methane & oxygen in an atmosphere. I don't have a clue really, but I think that would be pretty convincing evidence of life. I expect that they are busy looking and we will get a result like that in the not too distant future - if the JWST can do it and if such atmospheres do exist in substantial numbers.

• by GordonS on 8/27/22, 12:57 PM

  For anyone else curious, the planet in question is WASP-39b, which is a long way away. From Wikipedia:

  "WASP-39b is in the Virgo constellation, and is about 700 light-years from Earth"

• by FL33TW00D on 8/27/22, 1:18 PM

  For everyone imagining an industrial revolution 700 light years away - unfortunately WASP-39b isn't well suited:

  "WASP-39 b is a hot, puffy gas-giant planet with a mass 0.28 times Jupiter (0.94 times Saturn) and a diameter 1.3 times greater than Jupiter, orbiting just 0.0486 astronomical units (4,500,000 miles) from its star"

• by mysterydip on 8/27/22, 10:44 AM

  > CO2 is an indicator of the metal enrichment (i.e., elements heavier than helium, also called "metallicity")

  I'm confused; aren't literally all but one of the elements heavier than helium?