Gas Planets

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  Astronomers Capture Two Giant Planets Forming Around Young Star WISPIT 2

  Astronomers have directly imaged two giant planets forming around the young star WISPIT 2. The system, just 5.4 million years old, shows rings, gaps, and active planet formation, offering a rare real-time glimpse into how solar systems like ours are born.

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  Jupiter Resumes Direct Motion This March as the Gas Giant Hits Peak Visibility for 2026 Skywatchers

  Jupiter’s retrograde motion ends around March 10, 2026, when the giant planet appears to reverse direction in the sky. The effect is caused by Earth overtaking Jupiter in its orbit. The bright planet will shine in Gemini near Castor and Pollux throughout March.

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  Scientists Discover High-Density Rocky Planet in LHS 1903 System That Defies Conventional Formation Models

  ESA’s CHEOPS mission has uncovered a surprising rocky planet at the outer edge of the LHS 1903 system. Located 116 light-years away, the discovery defies expectations that outer planets are gas giants. Scientists say the finding offers rare evidence that planets can form in gas-depleted environments, challenging current planetary formation models...

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  Astronomers Discover "Inside-Out" Planetary System With Rocky World Beyond Gas Planets, Challenging Formation Theories

  Since the 1990s, scientists have discovered approximately 6,100 planets outside our solar system, called exoplanets.

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  NASA Juno Mission Uncovers Subtle Geometric Shifts That Challenge Existing Models of the Jovian Interior

  Scientists have refined Jupiter’s size and shape using modern radio signal observations, finding the giant planet slightly smaller and more flattened than earlier estimates. Though the difference is only a few kilometres, researchers say it greatly improves models of Jupiter’s interior, gravity, and atmospheric structure, offering deeper insigh...

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  Unique Inside-Out Planetary System Reveals Unexpected Rocky World on the Outer Edge

  Astronomers have discovered a rare inside-out planetary system around LHS 1903, where a rocky planet exists beyond gas giants. Using ESA’s CHEOPS telescope, researchers found evidence that planets formed one after another in a gas-depleted environment, challenging long-standing theories about how planetary systems form and evolve across the galax...

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  NASA's James Webb Telescope Reveals Helix Nebula In Stunning Detail, Showing How Dying Stars Seed Future Planets

  Previous Spitzer studies have indicated the formation of complex molecules in the Helix Nebula.

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  Webb Telescope Discovers Hidden Atmosphere on Molten Super-Earth TOI-561 b Despite Extreme Heat

  NASA’s Webb Telescope detects a hidden atmosphere on ultra-hot super-Earth TOI-561 b, revealing gases above its molten surface, challenging previous assumptions about small planets surviving intense stellar radiation.

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  James Webb Space Telescope Spots an Exoplanet Losing Its Atmosphere in a Huge Helium Stream

  Astronomers using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope have observed a massive helium cloud escaping from the super-puff exoplanet WASP-107b, marking the first direct detection of such atmospheric loss. Webb’s infrared data reveal an enormous exosphere nearly ten times the planet’s radius, with helium streaming both ahead of and behind the plane...

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  Scientists Warn Southern Ocean Could ‘Burp’ Stored Heat, Delaying Global Cooling for 100 Years

  New modelling suggests the Southern Ocean could one day release the vast heat it has stored from greenhouse gas pollution. If CO₂ levels were pushed to net-negative, deep convection may trigger a sudden “thermal burp” that warms the planet for decades. Though idealised, the study shows how Antarctica’s surrounding seas could shape long-term...

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  Astronomers Spot Signs of Baby Planets in a Star’s Mysterious Disk

  Astronomers using Keck Observatory have imaged the dusty disk around HD 34282, a young star about 400 light-years away, revealing bright clumps and a 40 AU gap—clear signs of planet formation. The system provides a rare glimpse into early planetary birth, helping refine models of how gas and dust evolve into new worlds.

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  NASA's James Webb Space Telescope Telescope Challenges Old Theories on Mini-Neptune Worlds

  New models suggest mini-Neptunes—planets smaller than Neptune with thick gas envelopes—may have solid rocky surfaces instead of molten magma. Data from NASA’s JWST revealed high-pressure atmospheres capable of compressing molten rock into solid crusts. This discovery challenges earlier assumptions and offers key insights into exoplanet compos...

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  Astronomers Stunned As Rogue Planet Grows At Record Speed

  The object, known as Cha 1107-7626, lies about 620 light-years away and is estimated to be five to ten times the mass of Jupiter.

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  NASA’s JWST Produces First-Ever 3D Map of Distant Planet WASP-18b

  NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has created the first-ever 3D atmospheric map of an exoplanet, revealing the extreme conditions on WASP-18b, an “ultra-hot Jupiter” located 400 light-years away. Using infrared eclipse mapping, scientists discovered a scorching hotspot over 2,700 °C where water molecules are breaking apart. This groundbreaki...

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  Mars Orbiters Take Rare Images of Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS Zooming Past Red Planet

  ExoMars TGO captured a series of images with its Colour and Stereo Surface Imaging System (CaSSIS).