Written by Sharvan Kumar
NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) observed a mysterious "planetary-mass" object, SIMP 0136, which is roughly 13 times the mass of Jupiter and located just 20 light-years from Earth.
SIMP 0136 is a freely floating object in interstellar space, without a star, and spins at an incredibly fast rate, completing one full rotation every 2.4 hours.
Despite floating through space, SIMP 0136 shares some similarities with gas giants like Jupiter and Saturn, including the presence of multiple cloud layers and high-altitude hot spots in its atmosphere.
Using JWST's Near-Infrared Spectrograph, scientists observed detailed infrared light, uncovering new insights into the object's atmosphere, which includes signs of patchy cloud layers and temperature variations.
The researchers found possible evidence of auroral activity and temperature shifts, suggesting complex atmospheric dynamics on SIMP 0136.
Early findings point to the presence of molecules such as methane, carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide, though the exact chemical composition and variations over time remain unclear.
The scientists compared their observations to watching Earth from a distance, noting that different colors in the infrared spectrum could reveal varying features of the object's surface and atmosphere .
From East West Hunt