NASA's Webb Telescope Captures Unprecedented Images of Enigmatic Planet

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has observed a "mini-Neptune" planet outside our solar system, revealing a highly reflective world with a steamy atmosphere. The planet, called GJ 1214 b, is too hot to harbor liquid-water oceans, but water in vaporized form could be a major part of its atmosphere. The planet is totally blanketed by some sort of haze or cloud layer, and the atmosphere remained hidden until this observation. The observation demonstrates the power of Webb's Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI), which views wavelengths of light outside the part of the electromagnetic spectrum that human eyes can see.