Helium found on nearby rocky world

What's happened

Astronomers have detected helium escaping from LHS 1140b, a rocky 'super-Earth' 48 light-years away that orbits in its star's habitable zone. The finding has confirmed an atmosphere around a habitable-zone rocky exoplanet for the first time and has been published in Science; teams used ground-based infrared spectroscopy and modelling.

What's behind the headline?

What this discovery means

• The detection has moved atmospheres on small, rocky habitable-zone planets from theoretical possibility to observational reality. Finding helium in an escaping upper atmosphere shows LHS 1140b has retained volatiles despite orbiting a red dwarf.

• Helium alone does not indicate habitability. Helium is an inert, light gas and will not support life. The critical question is whether heavier, life-supporting gases such as water vapour or nitrogen are present lower in the atmosphere; JWST follow-up will search for those signatures.

Why the method matters

• The team has used a targeted technique: they have searched the upper atmosphere for escaping helium rather than trying to detect lower-atmosphere molecules during transit. That has already yielded a clear spectral signal and will shape future observing strategies for small rocky planets.

Immediate consequences

• Telescopes including JWST will focus follow-up resources on LHS 1140b to map atmospheric composition and search for water. Over the next few years JWST programmes will determine whether the helium signal is a transient leak or part of a steady, stable atmosphere.

• The result will change target lists for atmospheric surveys: planets around quiet red dwarfs that were previously deprioritised will now receive more observation time.

Longer-term forecast

• If JWST finds water or other heavier gases, exoplanet science will pivot: models of atmospheric retention around red dwarfs will be revised and the estimated number of potentially habitable nearby planets will increase.

• If follow-up finds only ephemeral helium loss with no stable lower atmosphere, the discovery will still act as a warning: upper-atmosphere detections can be misleading proxies for surface conditions, and observing programmes will need combined upper- and lower-atmosphere diagnostics.

Bottom line

This has changed the practical roadmap for finding habitable worlds. The community will now prioritise combined upper- and lower-atmosphere measurements and will use LHS 1140b as the first laboratory to test whether rocky planets around red dwarfs can keep atmospheres that matter for habitability.

How we got here

LHS 1140b was discovered in 2017. It is 1.7 times Earth's radius, 5.6 times its mass and orbits a quiet red dwarf in the habitable zone. Researchers targeted escaping helium in the upper atmosphere with infrared transit spectroscopy using the Magellan/WINERED instrument after theoretical models predicted a helium signal.

Our analysis

The core claim—helium has been detected escaping from LHS 1140b—appears consistently across outlets. The New York Times, BBC Business and The Guardian all cite lead author Collin Cherubim and report the Science paper; the BBC quotes Cherubim calling the finding "a big deal." The Independent and BBC explain the observational method: the team used the WINERED infrared spectrograph on the Magellan Clay telescope to detect an upper-atmosphere helium signal that was predicted by theoretical models (Independent). The Guardian adds detail on variability: Cherubim told reporters that helium was detected in 2024 but not in 2025, prompting reanalysis, and that the team has ruled out telluric contamination. The Times of Israel and BBC stress the limits: helium alone does not imply life, and researchers have emphasised they have no evidence for biology (Times of Israel; BBC). Read Collin Cherubim's comments in The Guardian for the team's interpretation: "This is the first actually observationally confirmed atmosphere on a rocky planet in the habitable zone". The Independent and BBC outline next steps: JWST observations over the coming years will search for water and other heavier gases to test whether the atmosphere is steady-state or transient (Independent; BBC). The Scotsman provides sceptical context: helium is not conducive to life and must not be over-interpreted. Together the coverage shows consensus on the detection and its significance, while emphasising two clear uncertainties: whether heavier gases exist and whether the helium signal is persistent.

Go deeper

• What will JWST look for next on LHS 1140b and when will results arrive?
• How does helium escape change estimates of water retention on rocky planets around red dwarfs?

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