Published • loading... • Updated
"Pink Planet" Is Surrounded by Salty Clouds, Researchers Using Webb Telescope Find
JWST found chloride and sulfide salts in GJ504b’s atmosphere and measured heavy elements that may help determine whether it is a planet or brown dwarf.
- On Thursday, astronomers published research in The Astronomical Journal using the James Webb Space Telescope, discovering a veil of salt clouds in the atmosphere of GJ504b, a "Pink Planet" located 57 light-years from Earth.
- Ground-Based telescopes previously struggled to observe the Pink Planet because it is faint and cold, aged between 2.5 billion and 4 billion years, making Webb's powerful infrared capabilities essential.
- Researchers captured the object's light in 2 hours, revealing a "fingerprint" of carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen that required salt clouds in atmospheric models to explain the detected spectrum.
- "We tried three different types of clouds, and salt clouds fit best," said team leader Aneesh Baburaj of Northwestern University, explaining they form in environments too hot for water but too cool for silicates.
- Future studies aim to resolve whether GJ504b, estimated at 25 times Jupiter's mass, is a giant exoplanet or a brown dwarf star, potentially enabling detection of even colder atmospheric conditions.
Insights by Ground AI
20 Articles
20 Articles
der Standard ATReposted by 
der Standard DE
der Standard DEThe unusual star companion discovered 15 years ago gave up the science puzzles so far. Some could now solve the Webb telescope
·Vienna, Austria
Read Full Article
Famous 'Pink Planet' harbors a salty surprise
Northwestern University-led astronomers have discovered salty skies surrounding the universe's famous "Pink Planet." For more than a decade, the ancient, rosy-hazed world kept astronomers guessing. One of the coldest known planetary-mass companions ever directly imaged, the elusive object is too faint for astronomers to dissect its light from Earth. But new observations from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) reveal an atmosphere filled with exotic chemistry—and salty clouds unlike anything seen before.
·United Kingdom
Read Full Article
Father's Day SaleGet 40% off Vantage subscriptions for yourself or a friend.Get Started
Coverage Details
Total News Sources20
Leaning Left3Leaning Right0Center4Last UpdatedBias Distribution57% Center
Bias Distribution
- 57% of the sources are Center
57% Center
L 43%
C 57%
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
