NASA's JWST Maps Weather on Planet 280 Light‑Years Away
High temperatures and extreme wind speeds influence the chemistry of the planet's atmosphere.
An international team of astronomers used JWST to map the temperature and analyze the atmospheric composition around the hot Jupiter WASP‑43b.
The results suggests that supersonic winds of hot gas are blowing around from the dayside, thoroughly churning up the atmosphere,
and preventing the chemical reactions that would otherwise produce methane on the nightside.
Image Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, Ralf Crawford (STScI)