Share to ClassroomScientists Find Air Around Earth-Like Planet
Scientists have found air around a rocky planet far from Earth. The planet is called LHS 1140b. It goes around a small, cool star 48 light years away. This is the first time scientists have found an atmosphere on a rocky planet at the right distance for water. An atmosphere is the layer of gas around a planet. A team from Harvard University led the work. They used a large telescope in Chile and saw helium gas leaving the planet.
A planet needs the right distance from its star to have liquid water. If it is too close, it is too hot. If it is too far, it is too cold. Scientists know more than 6,000 planets around other stars. Hundreds are at the right distance, but only a few dozen are small and rocky like Earth. None showed air before this discovery. LHS 1140b was found in 2017. It is heavier and wider than Earth.
The helium did not show up again in 2025. The team checked their work carefully. One scientist in England called the finding an important step. But another scientist in the Netherlands was more careful. She said the gas comes from very high above the planet, not from the surface. Helium can not support life by itself. Other gases may be deeper down.
