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JWST Maps Basaltic Surface of Nearby Super-Earth LHS 3844 b

JWST Maps Basaltic Surface of Nearby Super-Earth LHS 3844 b

Astronomers used the James Webb Space Telescope to analyze LHS 3844 b, finding a dark, intensely hot surface with no detectable atmosphere. Spectral clues point to basalt or mantle-like rock rather than an Earth-like silicate crust, and no volcanic gases were observed, suggesting long-term geological inactivity.

Original headline

Astronomers explore the surface composition of a nearby super-Earth