Banerjee and colleagues used JWST's Near InfraRed Spectrometer (NIRSpec) to measure the spectrum of light from planet L98-59d as it passed in front of its star, revealing an atmosphere made mostly of sulfur dioxide and some hydrogen sulfide. This suggests that despite being too close to its star for life, volcanic activity could sustain a thick, noxious atmosphere.
The observations challenge previous understandings of similar planets, as they typically only reveal bare rock, indicating that L98-59d's volcanic nature could be an extraordinary exception.
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