Webb Telescope Maps Weather on Two Distant Worlds

· Science · United States

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has revealed atmospheric detail on two distant planets. One, a turbulent world 20 light-years away, shows a surprisingly orderly weather system with three recurring atmospheric states driven by temperature changes and shifting clouds; astronomers describe it as a new tool for studying weather on distant planets. Separately, Webb found the atmosphere of WASP-17b, a scorching gas giant 1,300 light-years away, to be lopsided: powerful winds redistribute heat and cause one side of the atmosphere to bulge outward. Together the findings illustrate how the observatory's infrared measurements can track cloud and temperature behavior on exoplanets, a capability central to comparing alien atmospheres and testing models of how heat moves around tidally locked worlds.

Why it matters：Characterizing exoplanet weather shows that atmospheric dynamics can now be observed rather than only modeled, a step toward comparing climates across widely different worlds.

Key points

  • One world 20 light-years away shows three recurring atmospheric states.
  • WASP-17b, 1,300 light-years away, has an atmosphere that bulges on one side.
  • Both results come from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope.

Sources (original reporting)

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