Potential Water-Ice Clouds On A Jupiter-like Planet, A Step Toward Finding Them On Earth-like Worlds

Summary: Scientists just got a weather report for a giant planet 12 light-years away, and it's calling for ice! Using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), researchers looked at Epsilon Indi Ab, a massive planet that is as wide as Jupiter but over seven times heavier. Because it is still young, it holds onto heat and sits right around freezing at 32°F (0°C).

Scientists expected to see a thick atmosphere made of ammonia. Instead, the telescope found signs of water-ice clouds, very similar to the wispy cirrus clouds we see in our own sky. This is a huge deal! If our telescopes are now powerful enough to spot water-ice clouds on a distant gas giant, it means we are one step closer to finding them on smaller, Earth-like planets that might actually support life.

For more details, see rssapp-iflscience-com at iflscience.com/potential-water-ice-clouds-on-a-jupiter-like-planet-a-step-towards-find-them-on-earth-like-worlds-83278 (opens in new tab)