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1h ago

JWST Studies Reframe TRAPPIST-1: Frequent Weak Flares and a Dubious Methane Hint on TRAPPIST-1e

Researchers now prioritize separating stellar noise from planetary signals to determine whether TRAPPIST-1e even has an atmosphere.

Located about 39 light-years from Earth, the TRAPPIST system resembles a miniature version of our solar system: The star, an ultracool red dwarf, and all its planets would comfortably fit inside the orbit of planet Mercury. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Joseph Olmsted (STScI)
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Overview

  • University of Colorado Boulder analyzed six TRAPPIST-1 flares seen by JWST in 2022–2023, finding the star flares about six times daily.
  • The modeling indicates electron beams powering the flares are roughly ten times weaker than expected for similar low-mass stars.
  • Frequent flares have disrupted many transit observations, complicating efforts to obtain clean spectra of the system’s Earth-sized planets.
  • The latest reanalysis of four JWST NIRSpec transits finds the tentative methane-like feature on TRAPPIST-1e is more plausibly stellar contamination than a confirmed atmospheric signal.
  • Teams plan larger JWST campaigns, dual-transit observations using airless TRAPPIST-1b as a reference, and supporting monitoring from NASA’s upcoming Pandora mission to reduce stellar variability uncertainties.