James Webb Telescope Advances Search for Water on Exoplanets
Researchers are exploring the potential of using the James Webb Space Telescope to identify water worlds by detecting specific minerals formed when water interacts with cooling lava on exoplanets. By studying basalt, a common volcanic rock, scientists aim to identify chemical fingerprints that indicate the presence of water. This method could help determine if exoplanets like LHS 3844b once had surface or subsurface water, although it requires extensive telescope time to analyze distant lava flows.
