Undated handout photo issued by NASA of an artist's illustration conceptualizes the swirling hot sand clouds that has been detected on a distant planet by Nasa's James Webb Space Telescope. Researchers pinpointed silicate cloud features in the distant planet's atmosphere. They found that the atmosphere is constantly rising, mixing and moving during its 22-hour day, bringing hotter material up and pushing colder material down. Issue date: Wednesday March 22, 2023. PA Photo. See PA story SCIENCE Webb. Photo credit should read: NASA/ESA/CSA/Joseph Olmsted/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used in for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder.
VHS 1256 b is about four times farther from its stars than Pluto is from our Sun(Picture: PA)

Nasa’s James Webb Space Telescope has spotted another alien planet at the edge of our universe where everyday is a scorcher.

Named VHS 1256 b, the planet is about 40 light-years away and orbits not one, but two stars over a 10,000-year period.

What makes this planet unique is its atmosphere which consists of swirling clouds of silicate, bringing temperatures to a scorching 830 degrees Celsius.

The planet has a 22-hour day, during which the clouds in its atmosphere are constantly rising, mixingand moving, bringing hotter material up and pushing colder material down.

Exoplanet emission spectrum
Within the planet’s clouds, Webb detected both larger and smaller silicate dust grains, which are shown on a spectrum (Picture: Nasa)

‘VHS 1256 b is about four times farther from its stars than Pluto is from our Sun, which makes it a great target for Webb,’ said Brittany Miles of the University of Arizona, who leads the study.

‘That means the planet’s light is not mixed with light from its stars.’

The team also made ‘extraordinarily clear’ detections of water, methane, and carbon monoxide with Webb’s data, and found evidence of carbon dioxide on the planet.

This is the largest number of molecules ever identified all at once on a planet outside our solar system.

Although all of the features the team observed have been spotted on other planets elsewhere in the Milky Way by other telescopes, other research teams typically identified only one at a time.

‘No other telescope has identified so many features at once for a single target,’ said co-author Andrew Skemer of the University of California, Santa Cruz. ‘We’re seeing a lot of molecules in a single spectrum from Webb that detail the planet’s dynamic cloud and weather systems.’

Within the planet’s clouds, Webb detected both larger and smaller silicate dust grains, which are shown on a spectrum.

‘The finer silicate grains in its atmosphere may be more like tiny particles in smoke,’ noted the study’s co-author Beth Biller of the University of Edinburgh.

‘The larger grains might be more like very hot, very small sand particles.’

VHS 1256 b has low gravity compared to more massive dwarf planets, which means that its silicate clouds can appear and remain higher in its atmosphere where Webb can detect them.

THIS PICTURE: Artist's impression of the James Webb Telescope. --- See SWNS story SWNAwebb. --- NASA???s James Webb Space Telescope has captured a lush, highly detailed landscape ??? the iconic Pillars of Creation ??? where new stars are forming within dense clouds of gas and dust. The three-dimensional pillars look like majestic rock formations, but are far more permeable. These columns are made up of cool interstellar gas and dust that appear ??? at times ??? semi-transparent in near-infrared light. Webb???s new view of the Pillars of Creation, which were first made famous when imaged by NASA???s Hubble Space Telescope in 1995, will help researchers revamp their models of star formation by identifying far more precise counts of newly formed stars, along with the quantities of gas and dust in the region. Over time, they will begin to build a clearer understandi
Scientists consider this just the beginning of what they are yet to learn about the new planet using Webb’s data(Picture: Nasa / SWNS)

Another reason its skies are so turbulent is the planet’s age. In astronomical terms, it’s quite young. Only 150 million years have passed since it formed – and it will continue to change and cool over billions of years.

Since it’s so far from its stars, it will become colder over time, and its skies may transition from cloudy to clear.

Scientists consider this just the beginning of what they are yet to learn about the new planet using Webb’s data.

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