Two giant exoplanets observed by the James Webb space telescope gave science a unique window to understand how planets form.
One showed silicate clouds in its atmosphere and the other a circumplanetary disk that could give rise to moons, similar to Jupiter.
What did James Webb discover in the YSES-1 system?
A team led by Kielan Hoch from the Space Telescope Science Institute analyzed the YSES-1 system, with surprising results.
Thanks to James Webb's power, they managed to study in detail two young planets orbiting a star similar to the Sun.
The findings allow scientists to observe in real time how a giant planet forms. In addition, they provide data to compare with the evolution of the Solar System.
The key is in the atmosphere
With James Webb's spectroscopic tools, scientists detected silicate clouds in the exoplanet YSES 1-c.
These are particles similar to sand that leave a unique mark in the infrared spectrum. It is the strongest silicate absorption ever seen in an exoplanet.
