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Five years ago, NASA’s infrared Spitzer Space Telescope helped discover a family of seven rocky exoplanets orbiting the same star, known as TRAPPIST-1. Now, NASA’s new infrared powerhouse — the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) — measured the temperature of one of those worlds, TRAPPIST-1b, in new research published in the journal Nature (opens in new tab) . 

The bad news: The Earth-like planet is almost certainly uninhabitable.

Astronomers used JWST’s mid-infrared camera, called MIRI, to look for the planet’s thermal emission — think heat-sensing “Terminator” vision. They found that TRAPPIST-1b is scorching — about 450 degrees Fahrenheit (232 degrees Celsius), about the temperature of an oven — and that it likely lacks an atmosphere.

The discovery is another record-breaking first for the JWST, which has been steadily producing newsworthy results since its launch. 

Related: 25 jaw-dropping James Webb Space Telescope images 

“This is the first detection of any form of light emitted by an exoplanet as small and as cool as the rocky planets in our own solar system,” NASA officials said in a statement (opens in new tab) .

“No previous telescopes have had the sensitivity to measure such dim mid-infrared light,” Thomas Greene (opens in new tab) , a NASA astrophysicist and lead author of the new work, said in the statement. 

The initial discovery of the seven TRAPPIST-1 exoplanets spurred great excitement in the astronomical community, since all of the distant worlds are about the size of Earth and are located in their star’s habitable zone, the region that’s just the right distance from a star for liquid water to exist on a planet’s surface. This system is “a great laboratory” and “the best targets we have for looking at the atmospheres of rocky planets,” study co-author Elsa Ducrot (opens in new tab) , an astronomer with the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), said in the statement.

Don’t get too excited about a new world for humans yet, though — the TRAPPIST-1 planets are out of our current reach, at a whopping 235 trillion miles (378 trillion kilometers) away. They’re also orbiting a star much smaller and redder than our sun, known as an M dwarf star.

“There are ten times as many of these stars in the Milky Way as there are stars like the sun, and they are twice as likely to have rocky planets as stars like the sun,” Greene said. 

These abundant M dwarfs are obvious targets for astronomers seeking habitable planets, and it’s conveniently easier to observe rocky planets around these smaller stars. There’s one catch, though: M dwarfs are much more active than our sun, often flaring and spewing high-energy rays that could be damaging to budding extraterrestrial life or to a planet’s atmosphere.related stories—Monster black hole may have killed this galaxy’s star-forming power, James Webb Telescope reveals

—The James Webb Telescope detected the coldest ice in the known universe – and it contains the building blocks of life

—James Webb Space Telescope captures star going supernova in a dazzling cloud of dust

Previous observations of TRAPPIST-1b weren’t sensitive enough to determine if it had an atmosphere after all, or if it was a barren rock. The planet is tidally locked to its star, meaning one side always faces its star and the other is stuck in perpetual night. Simulations suggest that if this world had an atmosphere, the planet’s temperature would be lower, as the air would redistribute the heat around both sides. The JWST recorded a significantly hotter temperature, though — indicating no atmosphere and knocking one more planet off humanity’s list of possibly habitable worlds.

The real excitement here, however, isn’t really the specifics of TRAPPIST-1b. Instead, the crucial takeaway is that the JWST is capable of these kinds of measurements and will continue to make more of them, exploring the atmospheres and temperatures of many other worlds.

“There was one target that I dreamed of having, and it was this one,” study co-author Pierre-Olivier Lagage (opens in new tab) , also with CEA, said in the statement. Lagage is one of the developers of MIRI, the instrument that made these observations. “This is the first time we can detect the emission from a rocky, temperate planet. It’s a really important step in the story of discovering exoplanets.”

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Sports

Ohio St. dominates Michigan to snap losing streak

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Ohio St. dominates Michigan to snap losing streak

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Julian Sayin threw three touchdown passes, including a 35-yarder to Jeremiah Smith on a fourth down in the second quarter, and No. 1 Ohio State beat No. 15 Michigan 27-9 in a dominant performance on Saturday.

The defending national champion Buckeyes (12-0, 9-0 Big Ten, No. 1 CFP) likely earned a first-round bye in the College Football Playoff. They can keep their top seed with a win against No. 2 Indiana (12-0, 9-0, No. 2 CFP) in the conference championship game Saturday night in Indianapolis.

Ryan Day should sleep well, a year after losing The Game when his team was favored by about three touchdowns. The upset extended his losing streak in the series to four games and sparked speculation he might also lose his job.

The Wolverines (9-3, 7-2) started strong with two field goals and an interception on the first three possessions of the game, but couldn’t generate pressure when Ohio State wanted to pass.

After throwing an interception on his second snap, redshirt freshman Sayin took advantage of the time and space he had to throw.

Sayin was 6 of 6 for 68 yards with two touchdowns on third and fourth down in the first half, including a 4-yard throw to Brandon Inniss with 16 seconds left that made it 17-9 at the break. He finished 19 of 26 for 233 yards and threw for at least three touchdowns for the sixth time this season.

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Sources: Sumrall the favorite to land Florida job

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Sources: Sumrall the favorite to land Florida job

Tulane coach Jon Sumrall has emerged as the clear favorite to be the next head coach of the Florida Gators, sources told ESPN’s Pete Thamel.

Florida turned its attention away from Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin earlier this week after getting the sense through irregular communication that he is interested in other options, likely a move to LSU or remaining with the Rebels, sources told ESPN on Friday.

Sumrall is expected to make a decision on his future by Sunday morning as he considers staying at Tulane or a move to Gainesville. He also received significant interest from Auburn, but the Tigers have since shifted their focus to other candidates, another indicator that Florida looms as the clear leader for Sumrall’s services, sources said.

Sumrall, a former SEC player at Kentucky, where he later served as an assistant coach and co-defensive coordinator, is 18-7 in two seasons at Tulane. He also won back-to-back Sun Belt titles as head coach at Troy in 2022 and 2023.

Sumrall, 43, garnered outside interest after his first season with Tulane, earning a contract extension after just one season at the helm.

Tulane (9-2) hosts Charlotte on Saturday night in its regular-season finale. The Green Wave can clinch a spot in the American Conference championship game against North Texas with a win over the 49ers.

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World

Hong Kong mourns those lost to fire as investigators search for remains

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Hong Kong mourns those lost to fire as investigators search for remains

Grief was not lonely today in Hong Kong. Three days after the worst fire in the history of modern Hong Kong, it feels as though it has barely sunk in.

The weekend at least lent them time to pay tribute, and gave them some space to reflect.

People came in droves to lay flowers, so many a queuing system was needed.

People queue with flowers near the site to mourn the victims of the deadly fire. Pic: AP
Image:
People queue with flowers near the site to mourn the victims of the deadly fire. Pic: AP

Official books of condolences were also set up in multiple parts of the city.

It was the first day large teams of investigators were able to enter the site. Dozens of them in hazmat suits were bused in, their work the grimmest of tasks.

Every so often you could see a flashlight peep through the window of an upper blackened window, a reminder that the fire services are still undertaking dangerous work.

But the reach of the authorities is ramping up here.

Firefighters walk through the burned buildings after the deadly fire. Pic: AP
Image:
Firefighters walk through the burned buildings after the deadly fire. Pic: AP

Yesterday a grass roots aid distribution centre was the vibrant heart of the response.

They received notice at 4am that they needed to pack up and move on. By 10.30am, the mountains of donations were gone, residents watched on, bewildered.

The task apparently will be handed over to professional NGOs.

“I think the government’s biggest concern is due to some past incidents,” one organiser tells us. “They may liken this to previous events. The essence looks similar.”

Pic: AP
Image:
Pic: AP

She’s careful with her words, but she’s clearly hinting at major pro-democracy protests that were crushed by authorities in 2019.

Any sort of mass gathering is now seen as a risk, the system is still very nervous.

And they might well be because people here are angry.

What, they ask, did the government know? What did it choose to ignore?

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How Hong Kong’s government failed to act on fire fears

Indeed, Sky News has learnt that residents raised their fears over fire safety connected to extensive renovations on Wang Fuk Court as early as September 2024.

They flagged the suspected flammability of green nets being used to cover the building.

An email response from the Labour Department was sent a few months later to Jason Poon, a civil engineer-turned-activist, who was working with residents. It insists that “the mesh’s flame retardant properties meet safety standards”.

But many clearly didn’t believe it. Posts spanning many months on a residents’ Facebook group continued to voice their fears.

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Hong Kong fire survivors supported by community

When a much smaller fire broke out in the city last month, one resident posted: “All the materials outside are flammable, I feel really worried.”

“I feel that same way” another replied. “The government has no sense of concern.”

For Poon, who dedicates much of his time to fighting lax safety standards in Hong Kong’s construction industry, the whole experience has been devastating.

“They knew all the maintenance was using corner-cutting materials, but they didn’t do anything,” he says.

“This is a man-made disaster.”

We put these allegations to Hong Kong’s Labour Department but they have not yet responded to our request for comment.

Grief may still be the prominent force here, but anger is not that far behind.

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