48 light-years away, a planet has an atmosphere—and scientists are now very excited

Harvard scientists have discovered a helium-dominated atmosphere on LHS 1140 b — a rocky, Earth-like planet located 48 light-years away in the habitable zone of a distant star — marking the first confirmed atmosphere on a rocky planet in a habitable zone outside our solar system, according to a study published in Science

HARVARD SCIENTISTS FIND AN ATMOSPHERE ON AN EARTH-LIKE PLANET 48 LIGHT-YEARS AWAY

Scientists may have just found the most important planet ever detected.

A team of Harvard researchers has discovered an atmosphere on LHS 1140 b, a rocky planet more than five times the mass of Earth located 48 light-years away in the habitable zone of a red dwarf star — the region where liquid water could theoretically exist on a planet’s surface, according to a study published this week in Science.

“It’s perfectly reasonable to imagine that there might be life on that planet,” said co-author David Charbonneau, Fred Kavli Professor of Astrophysics at Harvard. “We have no evidence of that, but all the pieces that we think are essential for life are present — it’s rocky, the right temperature, and has an atmosphere.”

The discovery was driven by lead author Collin Cherubim, a Harvard doctoral graduate who spent years as a drummer in a band and a high school physics teacher before pivoting to planetary science. Cherubim developed a theoretical model predicting which exoplanets would have helium-rich atmospheres, identified LHS 1140 b as a prime target, and secured telescope time at Las Campanas Observatory in Chile to confirm his predictions on a single night in September 2024 — an observation opportunity that will not recur for at least 50 years.

“Discovering an atmosphere on such a small planet in the habitable zone for the first time is a major milestone,” said co-author Robin Wordsworth, Gordon McKay Professor of Environmental Science and Engineering at Harvard. Cherubim will continue his research as a NASA Hubble Fellow at the University of Chicago, where he plans to test whether helium-rich atmospheres are common among similar exoplanets.