Nasa has discovered
an Earth-like planet thought to be covered in oceans of lava.
Nasa's renowned James Webb Telescope
is expected to give scientists a closer look at 55 Cancri e, a lava-covered planet
"Planets that orbit
this close to their star are assumed to be tidally locked,"
If the planet is not
tidally locked, the space agency suspects that "the surface would heat up, melt
and even vaporize during
the day, forming a very thin atmosphere that Webb could detect.
In the evening, the vapor
would cool and condense to form droplets of lava that would rain back to the surface