NASA’S NEW SPACE TELESCOPE TO REVEAL THE LAST DETAILS

When NASA’s James Webb space telescope is launched next year, the analysis of the planets' atmospheres will begin. The method is spectroscopy, by which the telescope measures the wavelengths of the light from the star that passes through a planet's atmosphere. Different molecules absorb and dim specific wave-lengths of the light. Based on this, scientists can tell the substances in the atmosphere such as methane, which is emitted by bacteria.