Overview
- The peer‑reviewed Nature Astronomy paper published Monday uses JWST’s Mid‑Infrared Instrument to measure the dayside heat spectrum of LHS 3844 b.
- The spectrum best matches dark basaltic or mantle‑like rock and rules out an Earth‑style, silica‑rich continental crust.
- Webb detected no atmospheric gases in the mid‑infrared, including sulfur dioxide, pointing to an airless and likely quiet surface today.
- The team weighs fresh volcanic rock against an old, space‑weathered regolith and now favors the weathered scenario, with follow‑up angle‑dependent tests queued to tell solid slabs from dusty layers.
- The planet is about 30% larger than Earth, orbits a red dwarf every 11 hours, and reaches roughly 1,000 K on its dayside, conditions that make it ideal for pioneering surface geology via thermal emission.