Researchers from Cornell University in the US have developed a new method to search for water on exoplanets using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).

Scientists are creating a basalt-based spectral library by studying the chemical processes that occur in Earth’s hot mantle. This method could help determine the surface composition of planets outside the Solar System and provide evidence of whether there is water on these planets.

“WE ARE TRYING TO SOLVE THE STRUCTURE OF EXOPLANETS” Engineering Professor Esteban Gazel from Cornell University stated, “When Earth’s mantle melts, basalt forms. The mantle of Mars also produces basalt when it melts. The surface of the Moon is largely composed of basalt. Therefore, by analyzing basalt on Earth, we are trying to decode the structure of exoplanets with data from JWST.”

PUBLISHED IN NATURE ASTRONOMY JOURNAL

Gazel and Assistant Professor Emily First from Macalester College co-authored a study published in the journal Nature Astronomy. They focus on understanding how minerals form rocks and the spectral traces these processes leave behind. In their research, they measured the infrared light emitted by 15 different basalt samples to determine the basalt spectral signatures detectable by JWST. If basaltic lavas cool and solidify on the surface of an exoplanet, they turn into rocks. If water is present on the planet, these basalt rocks can interact with water to create new minerals. By examining small spectral differences in basalt samples, scientists can determine if there is water on the surface or in the interior of an exoplanet. The research team examined the ‘Super Earth’ LHS 3844b located 48 light-years away from Earth to test their methods. Ishan Mishra, working in Nikole Lewis’s laboratory, developed a special computer code to model the surface of this planet using basalt spectral data. Researchers are analyzing the silicon, aluminum, and magnesium ratios in planets in order to understand how these rocks formed and under what conditions. This research represents a new method that will be used in the search for water on exoplanets by JWST and other observatories in the coming years.