James Webb Space Telescope may underestimate water on warm sub-Neptunes
Technology
A new study says the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) could be underestimating how much water is on warm sub-Neptune exoplanets, planets a bit bigger than Earth.
Because hydrogen and water separate deep in these planets, JWST's usual method only catches the drier outer layers, making it tough to spot all the water that might actually be there.
ATHENAIA finds TOI-270 d's hidden water
Researchers used a fresh simulation tool called ATHENAIA on a planet named TOI-270 d and found its visible atmosphere may be just the tip of a much more watery world.
They think lots of sub-Neptunes could be hiding similar secrets, so future space studies may need to dig deeper (literally) to get the full picture.