James Webb Discovers a Scorching Lava Planet with a “Giant Sunscreen”

A Highly Reflective Atmosphere on the Lava World TOI-561b Revealed by JWST/NIRSpec Phase Curves

James Webb discovers a scorching lava planet with a “giant sunscreen”

A scorching lava planet 280 light-years away has surprised astronomers by apparently maintaining a thick atmosphere despite conditions that should have stripped it away billions of years ago. James Webb Space Telescope observations suggest that TOI-561 b reflects about 75% of incoming starlight, possibly because of mineral clouds that act like a giant sunscreen. The planet may also be continually replenishing its atmosphere through gases release…

Clouds on a lava planet challenge what astronomers expected

University of Waterloo Physics and Astronomy Professor Lisa Dang and collaborators used the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to observe the lava planet TOI-561 b for 37 hours.

A lava planet that should be bare rock reflects 74% of its starlight, Webb finds

The James Webb Space Telescope has found that a rocky planet covered in molten rock, roasting so close to its star that a year there lasts less than half an Earth day, reflects light almost as well as Venus. Webb followed the planet around almost its whole orbit and saw it send back most of the starlight falling on it instead of soaking it up. That should not happen. Lava is dark, and a small rocky world under that much radiation was expected to…

Shiny lava planet challenges astronomers' expectations

Astronomers have discovered that a rocky lava planet once thought to be too extreme to have any atmosphere appears to be wrapped in a reflective layer of clouds forming a protective 'sunscreen' around the planet.