James Webb Space Telescope Feed Post

Webb Cracks Case of Inflated Exoplanet (Artist Concept)

Break out the chocolate and graham crackers, we’re headed to a “marshmallow” planet! With its super puffy atmosphere, WASP-107 b is one of the least dense planets known. Based on its characteristics, this planet was thought to have a small, rocky core surrounded by a huge mass of hydrogen and helium. But how could its small core sweep up so much gas and not turn it to a Jupiter-mass planet? Or if its core was larger, why didn't its atmosphere contract to make the planet smaller? New Webb data may have solved the mystery. For s‘more on this story: science.nasa.gov/missions/webb/webb-cracks-case-of-inflat... Illustration Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, Ralf Crawford (STScI) [Image Description: Graphic titled “Webb Solves a Marshmallow Planet Mystery,” featuring an illustration of an exoplanet with a hazy blue atmosphere and loose bands of clouds on the black background of space. The right three-quarters of the planet is lit by a star not shown in the illustration. The left quarter is in shadow. The terminator, the boundary between the day and night sides is gradual, not sharp. The planet is light blue with loose bands of white clouds. The edge of the planet has a subtle blue glow. Small white text in the top left corner reads “artist concept.”] Image & Description by NASA