Astronomers have made a groundbreaking discovery about the formation and atmosphere of exoplanets, using the James Webb Space Telescope to image two young planets in unprecedented detail. The study found silicate clouds in one of the planet’s atmospheres, providing new insights into how distant exoplanets form and what their atmospheres can look like.
Two young exoplanets, YSES-1c and YSES-1b, orbit a sun-like star, offering a unique opportunity to observe planetary formation in real time. The planets are several times larger than Jupiter and orbit far from their host star, highlighting the diversity of exoplanet systems even around stars like our own sun.
Using spectroscopic instruments on board the James Webb Space Telescope, researchers observed the atmospheres of these two young giants. They found that YSES-1c had silicate clouds in its mid-infrared spectrum, which are made up of sand-like particles. This is the strongest silicate absorption feature observed in an exoplanet yet.
In contrast, YSES-1b showed a disk around it, thought to feed material onto the planet and serve as the birthplace of moons – similar to those seen around Jupiter. However, this disk was found to be surprisingly long-lived, with only three other similar disks identified to date.
This study highlights the incredible capabilities of the James Webb Space Telescope to characterize exoplanet atmospheres. With only a handful of exoplanets that can be directly imaged, the YSES-1 system offers unique insights into atmospheric physics and formation processes.
The discovery of silicate clouds in an exoplanet atmosphere provides new clues about planetary formation and evolution. By studying this young system, scientists can gain insight into the origins of our own solar system and how planets change over time.
Source: https://phys.org/news/2025-06-silicate-clouds-atmosphere-distant-exoplanet.html