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Webb Telescope

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Lemon-shaped exoplanet around a pulsar reveals carbon-rich atmosphere, baffling formation theories
science18 days ago

Lemon-shaped exoplanet around a pulsar reveals carbon-rich atmosphere, baffling formation theories

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope observed PSR J2322-2650b, a Jupiter-mass planet in a lemon-like orbit around a millisecond pulsar, with an atmosphere dominated by molecular carbon (C2 and C3) rather than water or methane. The extreme carbon-to-oxygen and carbon-to-nitrogen ratios, plus the planet’s shape and winds, challenge current formation theories. The finding is based on spectra from a single planet using one instrument, so while striking, it highlights a new puzzle rather than a confirmed explanation for how such worlds form.

via Space Daily|
#carbon-atmosphere#exoplanet#planet-formation
Ancient Interstellar Visitor 3I/ATLAS Carries CO2-Rich Coma Through Our Solar System
space1 month ago

Ancient Interstellar Visitor 3I/ATLAS Carries CO2-Rich Coma Through Our Solar System

3I/ATLAS is the third confirmed interstellar visitor to our solar system, on a hyperbolic trajectory that brought it to about 1.4 AU from the Sun in Oct 2025 and a close Earth approach in Dec 2025; Webb’s near-infrared spectra reveal a carbon dioxide–rich coma—with CO2 outweighing water by about eight to one—along with other volatiles, suggesting a nucleus intrinsically rich in CO2 and an origin well before the Sun. Isotopic and motion analyses hint at a formation roughly 10–12 billion years ago, making it possibly older than the Sun; SETI searches found no technosignatures, and the object is now outbound and fading. The event foreshadows more interstellar visitors detectable by future surveys like the Vera C. Rubin Observatory.

via Space Daily|
#3iatlas#comet#interstellar-object
Webb’s Little Red Dots Spark New Theories on Black Hole Birth
space3 months ago

Webb’s Little Red Dots Spark New Theories on Black Hole Birth

The James Webb Space Telescope has captured hundreds of tiny red dots in deep-field images whose nature remains mysterious; early ideas centered on distant galaxies or dust-enshrouded black holes, but current thinking leans toward growing black holes surrounded by dense hydrogen gas, or even a new class called black hole stars (quasi-stars). A notable case nicknamed “The Cliff” challenges previous explanations and hints at exotic physics, but most LRDs are extremely distant and consensus awaits more nearby examples and data to settle their origins.

via CNN|
#black-holes#little-red-dots#quasi-stars
Webb Unmasks Progenitor of Nearby Supernova in NGC 1637
science4 months ago

Webb Unmasks Progenitor of Nearby Supernova in NGC 1637

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, combined with archival Hubble data, identified the red supergiant star that exploded as supernova SN 2025pht in the galaxy NGC 1637—Webb’s first published detection of a supernova progenitor. The progenitor appeared unusually red due to surrounding dust, supporting ideas that dusty, massive stars can be missed in pre-explosion imaging. The dust is likely carbon-rich, prompting future searches for similar progenitors, including with the upcoming Roman Space Telescope.

via NASA Science (.gov)|
#dust#ngc-1637#red-supergiant
Webb’s 17-hour stare at Uranus uncovers baffling auroras
space-and-spaceflight4 months ago

Webb’s 17-hour stare at Uranus uncovers baffling auroras

The James Webb Space Telescope spent 17 hours peering at Uranus to map its upper atmosphere in three dimensions, revealing two bright auroral bands near the planet’s unusual magnetic poles and a depletion of ions between them. The observations show how Uranus’s tilted, offset magnetosphere shapes energy flow and auroral activity, with the upper atmosphere still cooling since the 1986 Voyager flyby, providing new insights into the dynamics of ice-giant atmospheres.

via Gizmodo|
#auroras#magnetosphere#space-and-spaceflight
Webb Spots MoM-z14, the Galaxy Born 280 Million Years After the Big Bang
space5 months ago

Webb Spots MoM-z14, the Galaxy Born 280 Million Years After the Big Bang

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has confirmed MoM-z14 as the most distant galaxy observed to date, with a redshift of 14.44 implying its light has traveled about 13.5 billion years—roughly 280 million years after the Big Bang. The galaxy is exceptionally compact yet luminous, about 50 times smaller than the Milky Way, signaling intense early star formation and raising questions about nitrogen production in the infant universe. It surpasses the previous record holder and demonstrates Webb’s power to illuminate the cosmos’s infancy and refine models of early galaxy growth.

via Gizmodo|
#astronomy#early-universe#redshift
James Webb Telescope Detects Stormy Auroras on Sunless Rogue Planet
science9 months ago

James Webb Telescope Detects Stormy Auroras on Sunless Rogue Planet

Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have observed auroras and complex weather patterns on SIMP 0136, a starless, rogue brown dwarf, revealing detailed atmospheric structures, temperature inversions, and steady silicate clouds, driven by magnetic activity and internal heat, demonstrating that even isolated objects can have dynamic weather systems.

via Earth.com|
#atmospheric-weather#auroras#rogue-planet
James Webb Telescope Investigates Potential Life on Earth-Like Exoplanet TRAPPIST-1e
science10 months ago

James Webb Telescope Investigates Potential Life on Earth-Like Exoplanet TRAPPIST-1e

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope is studying the Earth-sized exoplanet TRAPPIST-1 e, focusing on its atmosphere and potential habitability. Initial observations suggest the planet may have lost its primary atmosphere, but the presence of a secondary atmosphere with greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide remains possible, which could support liquid water. Further observations aim to clarify the planet's surface conditions and atmospheric composition, advancing our understanding of potentially habitable worlds beyond our solar system.

via NASA Science (.gov)|
#atmosphere#exoplanet#nasa