Of the seven Earth-sized planets circling the red dwarf star TRAPPIST-1, one world has become a special focus for astronomers. This planet, TRAPPIST-1e, orbits within the star’s “Goldilocks zone” — a region where temperatures could allow liquid water to exist on the surface — but only if the planet has an atmosphere to help regulate those conditions. Where liquid water can persist, the possibility of life follows naturally. Two recent scientific papers report the first detailed observations of the TRAPPIST-1 system made with NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. These studies,…
