                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                               2023 January 24
   An illustration showing the surface of a planet that has red lava flows
    and dark cliffs. A red star is seen in the background. Please see the
                 explanation for more detailed information.

                      LHS 475 b: Earth-Sized Exoplanet
            Illustration Credit: DeepAI's Fantasy World Generator

   Explanation: If you could stand on exoplanet LHS 475 b, what might you
   see? No one knows for sure but pictured here is an interesting guess
   made by an Earth-based artificial intelligence (AI) engine. The
   existence of the exoplanet was indicated in data taken by the
   Earth-orbiting TESS satellite but confirmed and further investigated
   only this year by the near-Earth Sun-orbiting James Webb Space
   Telescope. What is known for sure is that LHS 475 b has a mass very
   similar to our Earth and closely orbits a small red star about 40 light
   years away. The featured AI-illustrated guess depicts a plausibly
   rugged Earth-like landscape replete with molten lava and with the
   central red star rising in the distance. Webb data does not as yet
   reveal, however, whether LHS 475 b has an atmosphere. One of Webb's
   science objectives is to follow up previous discoveries of distant
   exoplanets to better discern their potential for developing life.

               Comet ZTF Gallery: Notable Submissions to APOD
                      Tomorrow's picture: a dark space
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
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                      A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
                           NASA Science Activation
                             & Michigan Tech. U.

