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Planetary Radio • Aug 05, 2026

LHS 1140b: The first atmosphere detected on a rocky habitable-zone exoplanet

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On This Episode

Collin Cherubim

Collin Cherubim

NASA Hubble Fellow for University of Chicago

Bruce betts portrait hq library

Bruce Betts

Chief Scientist / LightSail Program Manager for The Planetary Society

Sarah al ahmed headshot

Sarah Al-Ahmed

Planetary Radio Host and Producer for The Planetary Society

For the first time, scientists have confirmed an atmosphere on a rocky exoplanet in the habitable zone of another star. Sarah Al-Ahmed is joined by Collin Cherubim, NASA Hubble Fellow at the University of Chicago, to discuss his team's detection of helium escaping from the super-Earth LHS 1140b, and what it reveals about how rocky worlds build, transform, and lose their atmospheres over time. His team's paper, published in the journal Science, marks a milestone decades in the making. Then Bruce Betts, chief scientist of The Planetary Society, joins for What's Up, where we dig into the very first exoplanet atmosphere ever detected and its surprising connection to this week's guest.

Artist's impression of the super-Earth exoplanet LHS 1140b
Artist's impression of the super-Earth exoplanet LHS 1140b An artist's impression of the exoplanet LHS 1140b, a super-Earth orbiting a red dwarf star about 49 light-years from Earth in the constellation Cetus. A team led by Dr. Collin Cherubim detected helium escaping from this world's atmosphere, marking the first confirmed atmosphere on a rocky exoplanet in the habitable zone of another star.Image: ESO/spaceengine.org
Robin Wordsworth, Collin Cherubim, and David Charbonneau
Robin Wordsworth, Collin Cherubim, and David Charbonneau Pictured from left are Robin Wordsworth, Collin Cherubim, and David Charbonneau at Harvard University. Cherubim is the lead author of a 2026 Science paper reporting the first detection of an atmosphere on a rocky exoplanet in the habitable zone of another star. Wordsworth and Charbonneau co-advised his PhD and are co-authors on the paper. Charbonneau was also part of the team that made the very first detection of an exoplanet atmosphere in 2001.Image: Carlos Sanchez/Harvard FAS Staff Photographer

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