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Astronomers Confirm First Atmosphere on a Rocky, Habitable-Zone Exoplanet, and It Is Leaking Helium

Astronomers have detected helium escaping from the atmosphere of LHS 1140b, a rocky planet orbiting in the habitable zone of a nearby red dwarf star, marking the first confirmed atmosphere on a rocky world in such a zone. The discovery, made with the Magellan Clay telescope in Chile and published in the journal Science, shows the escape is time variable and driven by radiation from the host star.