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Health & Science3h 50m ago
JWST reveals that WASP-121 b’s dawn and dusk atmospheres differ in heat and chemistry, sharpening views of alien weather.
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WASP-121 b, an exoplanet
Who
Cyril Gapp of the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, JWST
What
JWST reveals that WASP-121 b’s dawn and dusk atmospheres differ in heat and chemistry, sharpening views of alien weather.
When
Fri, 12 Jun 2026 23:07:00 GMT · 3h 50m ago
Where
WASP-121 b, an exoplanet ·
Why
Astronomers used the James Webb Space Telescope to detect clear differences in temperature and chemistry across the planet's morning and evening terminators during transit.
The Frontline Impact
How this affects you
This research provides astronomers with a novel method to analyze exoplanet atmospheres in three dimensions, improving atmospheric models for ultrahot Jupiters and aiding in the selection of future observation targets.
Story chain
3 events in this thread- Health & Science3h 50m agoAstronomers discovered that WASP-121 b's morning and evening terminators, where day transitions to night, have distinct differences in heat and chemistry.Open article
- Currently Reading3h 50m agoJWST reveals that WASP-121 b’s dawn and dusk atmospheres differ in heat and chemistry, sharpening views of alien weather.
- Health & Science3h 50m agoAstronomers found clear differences between the morning and evening terminators of exoplanet WASP-121 b, where day turns to night, using the James Webb Space Telescope.Open article