A thick atmosphere has been detected around a planet that’s twice as big as Earth in a nearby solar system, researchers reported Wednesday.

The so-called super Earth — known as 55 Cancri e — is among the few rocky planets outside our solar system with a significant atmosphere, wrapped a blanket of carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide. The exact amounts are unclear. Earth’s atmosphere is a blend of nitrogen, oxygen, argon and other gases.

“It’s probably the firmest evidence yet that this planet has an atmosphere,” said Ian Crossfield, an astronomer at the University of Kansas who studies exoplanets and was not involved with the research.

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The research was published in the journal Nature.

Super Earth refers to a planet’s size — bigger than Earth but smaller than Neptune. The boiling temperatures on this planet — which can reach as hot as 4,200 degrees Fahrenheit – mean that it is unlikely to host life.

Instead, scientists say the discovery is a promising sign that other such rocky planets with thick atmospheres could exist that may be more hospitable.

The exoplanet 41 light years away is eight times heavier than Earth and circles its star Copernicus so closely that it has permanent day and night sides. A light-year is nearly 6 trillion miles. Its surface is encrusted with magma oceans.

To identify the makeup of its atmosphere, researchers studied Webb Space Telescope observations before and after the planet passed behind its star.

They separated the light emitted from the planet versus its star and used the data to calculate the planet’s temperature. There’s evidence the planet’s heat was being distributed more evenly across its surface – a party trick atmospheres are known for.

Gases from its magma oceans may play a key role in holding its atmosphere steady. Exploring this super Earth may also yield clues to how Earth and Mars might have evolved first with magma oceans that have since cooled, scientists say.

“It’s a rare window,” said Renyu Hu, a planetary scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, who was part of the research. “We can look into this early phase of planet evolution.”

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Chester Zoo in northern England is partnering with Mitsubishi Electric to implement more sustainable heating throughout its 128-acre grounds, with a key focus on enhancing the habitat of its critically endangered Eastern black rhinos.

The partnership, announced on Tuesday, May 21, aims to meet the specific heating requirements of the rhinos, while also contributing to the zoo’s broader sustainability targets.

“We have some very unique users in our buildings, with very, very specific environmental conditions,” Chester’s head of sustainability, Jennifer Kelly, told Reuters.

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“Every building on our site has a different environmental condition that we need to create to have the best animal welfare standards and habitat conditions for the critically endangered species that we’re caring for.”

The Eastern black rhinos are the first to benefit from the new tech as they require a carefully controlled environment for their wellbeing. The rhinos’ habitat features large open doors for their free movement, but this design can lead to substantial heat loss. Mitsubishi Electric’s heat pump technology aims to counter this by providing a stable temperature range of 18 to 24 degrees, creating a comfortable environment for the rhinos while minimizing energy waste.

But have the rhinos noticed the change?

“Not at all. We haven’t had any feedback that they’ve noticed that their heating has changed at all. If anything, we can claim a real success in terms of maintaining that high heat demand that they have in that we had a calf earlier this year. So they seem very happy and settled with the air source pump system,” added Kelly.

This partnership with Mitsubishi forms part of Chester Zoo’s commitment to its goals to reduce fossil fuel use and promote sustainability.

The zoo hopes that the air source heat pumps demonstrate what’s possible and show that if heat pumps can work in rhino habitats, they can work in residential and wider settings too.

“Our zoo will be 100 years old in 2031, so we do have some quite historic building stock on site that we need to retrofit,” added Kelly.

“So far, we haven’t found an application where an air source heat pump wouldn’t work.”

Reflecting their name, heat pumps are mostly known for their warming abilities. Even on cold days they operate by efficiently pulling in what heat exists outside from the air or the ground and using that to heat a special refrigerant liquid into gas. When that’s compressed, it warms up more. Pumping what results round the building raises the temperature to a comfortable level.

Chester Zoo, open since 1931, is home to over 37,000 animals across 500 species and is recognized globally for its conservation efforts.

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