James Webb Uncovers Exotic Salt Clouds on a Mysterious Pink World

The Pink Planet has a salty secret

For over 10 years, scientists have been decoding the mysterious atmosphere of a famous “Pink Planet.” Now, thanks to observations from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), astronomers  have found that the object harbors unusual salty clouds and an exotic chemistry in its atmosphere. The findings were recently published in The Astronomical Journal, and provide the first direct evidence for salt clouds in a cold object’s atmosphere.   Discovered…

James Webb uncovers exotic salt clouds on a mysterious pink world

Astronomers have finally cracked the mystery of the famous “Pink Planet,” a strange world 57 light-years away that has puzzled scientists for more than a decade. Using the James Webb Space Telescope, researchers discovered that its atmosphere contains water vapor, methane, carbon dioxide, ammonia, and something never directly confirmed before in such an object: salty clouds.

This Famously Weird 'Pink Planet' May Have Salty Clouds, Study Finds

The forecast calls for salty skies and pink haze.ScienceAlert stories are written, fact-checked, and edited by humans, never generated by AI. Don't miss a story, subscribe here.