Overview
- A team led by Collin Cherubim published a paper in Science reporting infrared transit spectroscopy that found helium escaping from the super‑Earth LHS 1140 b, which the authors say indicates the planet has an atmosphere.
- The signal was measured with the WINERED infrared spectrograph on the Magellan Clay Telescope at Las Campanas Observatory and was interpreted using atmospheric‑evolution models adapted from studies of gas giants.
- Modeling by the authors suggests the detected helium could mark an upper layer depleted in hydrogen and dominated by helium, consistent with an atmosphere that may have persisted for billions of years.
- The result comes with clear limits: a non-detection in 2025 raises reproducibility questions, helium only probes the extended upper atmosphere and does not reveal lower‑layer composition or surface habitability, and there is currently no evidence of life.
- Independent confirmation and deeper spectroscopy with larger ground telescopes and space observatories are required to verify the signal, measure the full atmospheric mix, and determine what the finding means for the search for habitable rocky planets.