Webb telescope detects water in atmosphere of super-hot exoplanet.
TL;DR
NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has discovered water vapor in the atmosphere of WASP-18 b, a gas giant exoplanet 10 times more massive than Jupiter. The planet's orbit lasts just 23 hours, and one side always faces the sun while the other is always in darkness. The temperature map of the planet showed a difference of up to 1,000 degrees between the hottest and coolest points, with temperatures changing based on elevation by hundreds of degrees. Despite the high heat, the Webb telescope found multiple small water features in multiple elevations, which could help researchers find similar water vapor in other atmospheres.
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