These strange planets are not present in our own solar system.
Answering these questions will require a deep dive into the sub-Neptunes' atmospheres, using a technique called transmission spectroscopy. Webb will watch each planet as the world passes across the face of its respective parent star. Some of the wavelengths or colors of starlight will be filtered out due to gases in the planet's atmosphere, allowing scientists to look for a distinctive"signature" for different elements.
An observation program aims to look at two sub-Neptune-size planets in Webb's first year of observations: GJ 1214 b, which you can think of as the original sub-Neptune due to its early discovery announcement back in 2009, and the much more recently found TOI-421 b, announced in 2020. The team plans to use Webb’s Mid-Infrared Instrument to look at the planet for 50 hours straight, capturing a little more than one orbit of the exoplanet. Scientists will use transmission spectroscopy to look for water, methane or ammonia. Thermal emissions, visible in mid-infrared light in which Webb is sensitive, should provide information about the planet's temperature and reflectivity.
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