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Astronomers have found a way to see through the turbulent atmosphere of a distant planet that experienced heat and gale-force winds — conditions that are thought to be similar to those on an early version of Earth that was also cold and blanketed by clouds. They accomplished it with the help of the NASA James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). WASP-121b orbits 900 light-years from Earth and circles its star once every 30 hours. That is why it has been shaped like a football and cooked to such a high degree; one side may become hotter than 3,000°C, which is hot enough to melt iron. This hellish world’s atmosphere has been analysed in unprecedented detail, revealing complex chemical signatures that hint at its violent origins and ongoing transformation.

JWST Detects Rare Molecules in WASP-121b’s Atmosphere, Revealing Planet’s Fiery Migration and Extreme Conditions

As per a recent report published by NASA, with JWST’s Near Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) instrument, scientists have been able to detect several molecules in the atmosphere of WASP-121b. A research study used a technique on a planetary atmosphere and found that silicon monoxide is the most important chemical. The research says that it developed early in the history of its star system, in a colder part of space, like Jupiter and Uranus in our solar system. This inward spiral, which was probably caused by gravity, cut off frozen material but let carbon-rich gas build up, which is what caused the present imbalance in the atmosphere.

The researchers used a three-dimensional model to depict how the temperature varies from the sunlit side to the night side of WASP-121b. They detected silicon monoxide, indicating that minerals were sponged up from the earliest asteroid impacts. It was hot, yes, but they detected methane on the nightside, a sign of vigorous up-and-down mixing that was pushing back toward the planet from cooler altitudes in the atmosphere. That flies in the face of everything we know about the atmospheres of other planets.

Observations of ultra-hot gas giants teach us about how atmospheres evolve, and JWST could share new insights. Then again, this could change the way we model and comprehend the formation of the planets around stars that aren’t so friendly.

It’s not what one would call a gentle planet, WASP-121b, a slapdash world. The observations made by JWST will be deeper, and scientists are eager to learn the variety of types of exoplanets out there in our galaxy.

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Ryugu Samples Reveal Ancient Water Flow on Asteroid for a Billion Years

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Microscopic samples from asteroid Ryugu reveal that liquid water once flowed through its parent body long after its formation. The finding, led by University of Tokyo scientists, suggests that such asteroids may have delivered far more water to early Earth than previously thought, offering a new perspective on how our planet’s oceans originated.

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Scientists Create Most Detailed Radio Map of Early Universe Using MWA

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Scientists using the Murchison Widefield Array in Australia analyzed nine years of radio data to study the elusive 21-cm hydrogen signal from the universe’s dark ages. Their findings suggest early black holes and stars had already heated cosmic gas, marking the first observational evidence of this warming phase.

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Vast Space to Launch Haven-1, the World’s First Private Space Station in 2026

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Vast Space’s Haven-1, a single-module orbital lab, will launch in 2026 via SpaceX’s Falcon 9. Designed for four astronauts on short missions, it features life-support systems tested with NASA and a domed observation window, marking a milestone in private space habitats.

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