JWST Discovers Mini-Neptune and Potentially Water Planet
NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has captured the closest look yet at a mysterious planet called GJ1214 b, revealing a highly reflective world with a steamy atmosphere. The planet, a "mini-Neptune," was largely impenetrable to previous observations, but the telescope's Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) was able to create a "heat map" of the planet as it orbited its star, revealing details of its atmosphere's composition. The observation could lead to deeper knowledge of a planet type shrouded in uncertainty, as mini-Neptunes are the most common type of planet in the galaxy but little is known about them.