The Hubble Space Telescope just ogled an exoplanet passing in front of a star in a triple system, revealing the nearby world’s mass. Webb Telescope Images the Pillars of CreationThe world is named LTT 1445Ac, and it was discovered in 2022 by NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). Now, a team of researchers used the veteran Hubble telescope to certify the world’s size; their results are accepted for publication in The Astronomical Journal and are currently hosted on the preprint server arXiv. The similarities stop there, though: LTT 1445Ac has a surface temperature of 500° Fahrenheit (260° Celsius), piping hot—and unsuitable for life—compared to our relatively balmy planet. “Transiting planets are exciting since we can characterize their atmospheres with spectroscopy, not only with Hubble but also with the James Webb Space Telescope,” Pass said.

Source: The Nation November 18, 2023 08:00 UTC