Alien Polluters

Christine Pulliam
July 24, 2014
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Planetary pollution
Christine Pulliam

In this artist's conception, the atmosphere of an Earth-like planet displays a brownish haze - the result of widespread pollution. New research shows that the upcoming James Webb Space Telescope potentially could detect certain pollutants, specifically CFCs, in the atmospheres of Earth-sized planets orbiting white dwarf stars. (Image by Christine Pulliam / Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics)