James Webb finds 2 TRAPPIST-1 Earth-sized planets likely tidally locked
Technology
The James Webb Space Telescope just found that two Earth-sized planets in the TRAPPIST-1 system (about 40 light-years away) may be tidally locked.
Basically, one side of each planet always faces its star while the other stays in darkness, creating wild temperature swings between the two sides.
NASA questions TRAPPIST-1 habitability
Because these planets can't spread heat around and seem to lack thick atmospheres, their climates are pretty unstable, making it tough for life as we know it to exist.
As NASA put it, a tantalizing question of whether this system can host life.
Even so, studying TRAPPIST-1 keeps teaching us more about what makes a planet potentially livable beyond Earth.