Harvard Team Finds Helium Atmosphere On Rocky Planet LHS 1140 b
LHS 1140 b orbits a red dwarf 48 light-years away, weighs over five Earths, spotted via Magellan's Clay telescope in Chile.
- Collin Cherubim, a Harvard doctoral student, led the study published in Science on July 16, 2026.
- Spectrograph observations taken September 23, 2024, revealed a helium-dominated upper atmosphere.
- The planet holds over five times Earth's mass and orbits inside its star's habitable zone.
Why it matters: An atmosphere is confirmed; life is not, and no instrument built today can tell the difference.
Harvard FAS / Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian ↗ · Jul 17, 20267/17/26 · ✓ Checked✓ Check