Earth-like planet ‘may have atmosphere to support life’

[u/TheTelegraph]

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/07/16/earth-like-planet-may-have-atmosphere-to-support-life/?WT.mc_id=tmgoff_reddit_have-atmosphere-to-support-life/&accesscontrol=facebookchannel_open

[u/AutoModerator]

We’ve recently made some updates to the subreddit and are glad to have you here at r/UnderReportedNews!

Here are a few quick reminders to help keep things running smoothly:

• Check out the rules: Please take a look at our Community Guidelines.
• Read the FAQ: You can find answers to common questions in our FAQ.
• See what’s changed: Read our latest moderator announcement for details on recent updates.
• Keep it kind: We value thoughtful and civil discussion—focus on the ideas, not the person.
• Help us out: If you spot rule-breaking content, please use the report button. It’s the most effective way to flag it for moderators.

---

Source cataloged: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/07/16/earth-like-planet-may-have-atmosphere-to-support-life/?WT.mc_id=tmgoff_reddit_have-atmosphere-to-support-life/&accesscontrol=facebookchannel_open

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/wavygravy76]

Please feel free to send up all of this earth’s egotistical; misogynistic; racist; money-worshipping; science-dodging; hate-filled megalomaniacs. You know who they are. Let them screw up that planet and leave the rest of us to repair this one… 🙄

[u/Nefarious_Nemesis → u/wavygravy76]

Came in here to reply the same thing. They wanna be pioneers of the human race, this is their best chance. If there's atmo to support 'em, hey good for them. If not, hey good for us.

[u/TheTelegraph]

The Telegraph reports:

Planet LHS 1140 b lies about 49 light years from Earth and has about six times the mass of our planet, despite being only 1.7 times bigger.

It sits in the Goldilocks zone of its solar system, the distance from its sun that is neither too hot nor too cold for the liquid water that is considered essential for life.

Dozens of rocky planets have been found in similar positions, but none have shown signs of an atmosphere.

Atmospheric gases are crucial for blocking dangerous cosmic radiation, providing gases for photosynthesis and respiration, stabilising the temperature and allowing water to exist on the surface.

“An atmosphere is essential for a planet to support life as we know it,” said Dr Collin Cherubim of Harvard University, the lead author of the new research.

“This is the first time anyone has found an atmosphere on a rocky planet in the habitable zone of another star.”

Researchers said the finding represented a “major milestone” in the search for life outside our solar system, and provided the “strongest evidence yet” that conditions similar to Earth could exist on exoplanets, as planets outside our solar system are known.

The team made the discovery after noticing helium escaping from the planet when they observed it through the Magellan Clay telescope at Las Campanas Observatory in Chile.

Read more: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/07/16/earth-like-planet-may-have-atmosphere-to-support-life/?WT.mc_id=tmgoff_reddit_have-atmosphere-to-support-life/&accesscontrol=facebookchannel_open