VISUAL ARCHIVE / IMAGE STORY
A Planet’s Atmosphere in Starlight
A helium absorption claim for LHS 1140 b comes from transit spectroscopy; the atmospheric view is an artistic reconstruction.
How an atmosphere can reveal itself from dozens of light-years away. During a transit, a small portion of the star's light passes through the planet's upper atmosphere, where atoms can absorb particular wavelengths. In 2024, the WINERED instrument on the Magellan Clay Telescope detected a helium signature associated with LHS 1140 b. AI illustration by The Last Transmission. © 2026 DarkScienceDocs.com
THE OBSERVATION
What we can actually see.
During a transit, a small fraction of starlight can pass through a planet’s upper atmosphere and carry an absorption signature. One team reported helium absorption for LHS 1140 b in 2024 data but not in 2025, interpreting this as a possible time-varying escaping atmosphere. Other analyses of Webb transits did not report the same helium detection, so its strength, variability, and atmospheric meaning remain under investigation.
THE ILLUSTRATION
What the artwork imagines.
The atmospheric rim and visible light path translate a tiny spectral effect into an approachable scene. No telescope has resolved a photograph of LHS 1140 b’s atmosphere, and the depicted color, thickness, and surface are not established by the helium measurement.
FROM THE ILLUSTRATED ARTICLE
The story that inspired it.
The article follows the excitement of a possible atmospheric signature and the difficulty of reconciling observations taken with different instruments and at different times. The image represents the method, not a confirmed portrait of the planet.
Read A Planet 48 Light-Years Away May Have an Atmosphere. Then JWST Made It Stranger.CHECK THE RECORD
The image interprets the research below. Follow the original work for the measurements and limits behind the scene.
Cherubim et al., reported helium absorption Independent Webb transit analysisOTHER IMAGE STORIES
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