James Webb has found a distant mini-neptune with mists and clouds just 40 light years from Earth

The James Webb Space Telescope continues to help scientists study the universe. A new study says the observatory has spotted a distant exoplanet covered in clouds and fog.

Here's What We Know

James Webb has pointed its instruments towards a distant alien world called GJ 1214 b. It is a mini-Neptune, a gas dwarf, more massive than our planet but smaller than 'real' Neptune.

The planet under study is located in the star system GJ 1214. It is located 40 light years away from us and has been previously studied by scientists. At the centre of the system is a red dwarf.

Although scientists had already studied the planet, they knew little about the composition of its atmosphere. The James Webb Space Telescope helped solve this problem. The observatory's instruments were able to monitor the temperature of GJ 1214 b during its entire orbital period, which is less than 40 hours.

It was learned that the temperature drops to 165 degrees Celsius at night and rises to 279 degrees Celsius during the day. This difference is caused by the high concentration of heavy molecules in the atmosphere. Methane or water, for example.

It is likely that these elements formed at a distance from GJ 1214 b and then began to approach the planet. This assumption is due to the fact that the red dwarf is poor in methane and water.

Scientists believe that GJ 1214 b may represent an ocean planet. The study should help in the study of similar exoplanets, which are very common in the universe.

Source: NASA