James Webb Space Telescope detects water on distant planet

Discovery could help in hunt for alien life

Photo issued by The European Space Agency from the James Webb Space Telescope which shows what is said to be the ‘deepest’ and most detailed picture of the cosmos to date (ESA/PA) (PA Media)

Nasa has revealed that the James Webb Space Telescope has detected signs of water on a planet more than a thousand light years away.

The US space agency said it’s multi-billion dollar space telescope “captured the signature of water” on the giant gas planet WASP 96-b, which orbits a star 1,150 light years away.

“For the first time, we’ve detected evidence of clouds in this exoplanet’s atmosphere,” Nasa tweeted.

The revelation comes as Nasa, ESA (European Space Agency) and CSA (Candadian Space Agency) share the first set of full-colour images taken by the telescope, which capture the deepest images of the universe ever made.

The ultra high-resolution images also show stellar life cycles and interacting galaxies.

The latest discovery offers hope that the most-powerful space telescope every built could help in the hunt for alien life, or even uncover potential habitable planets for future humans to live on.

“Exploring exoplanets is now a major component of the mission,” a Nasa spokesperson said.

The unveiling of the first set of images from the James Webb Space Telescope marks “the dawn of a new era in astronomy”, Nasa said.

“The first images from the world’s largest and most powerful space telescope will demonstrate Webb at its full power, ready to begin its mission to unfold the infrared universe,” the space agency added.