Why in News?
Astronomers detected phosphine on brown dwarf Wolf 1130C, using the James Webb Space Telescope. Though not proof of life, the finding refines understanding of phosphine’s natural formation, helping assess its reliability as a potential biosignature in the search for extraterrestrial life.
Description:
- Type: Infrared Space Observatory
- Launch Date: 25 December 2021
- Orbit / Location: Positioned at the Second Lagrange Point (L2), ~1.5 million km from Earth
- Primary Objective:
- Study the early universe
- Observe formation of stars and galaxies
- Analyse exoplanet atmospheres
- Observation Spectrum: Primarily Infrared (IR), with some visible light capability
- Major Instruments:
- NIRCam: Near Infrared Camera
- NIRSpec: Near Infrared Spectrograph
- MIRI: Mid-Infrared Instrument
- FGS/NIRISS: Fine Guidance Sensor / Near InfraRed Imager and Slitless Spectrograph
- Key Achievements / Findings:
- Detection of phosphine (PH₃) on brown dwarf Wolf 1130C
- Observation of early galaxies billions of light-years away
- Characterization of exoplanet atmospheres
- Recent News (2025): Detection of phosphine on Wolf 1130C helps refine models of abiotic vs biotic chemical processes, important for the search for extraterrestrial life
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