Webb telescope captures weather on exoplanet 700 lightyears away

Using the extraordinary precision of the James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers have mapped the atmosphere of WASP-94A b a "Hot Jupiter" located 700 light-years away revealing a dramatic weather cycle featuring morning sand clouds that completely dissipate by evening.

By Newsroom

Published 26 May 2026 at 11:14 pm IST

In a groundbreaking astronomical achievement, scientists utilizing the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have managed to peer through the atmospheric haze of a distant alien world to map its daily weather patterns.

The study, published in the journal Science, marks the first time researchers have been able to distinctly capture separate morning and evening atmospheric conditions on an exoplanet, a gas giant known as WASP-94A b located approximately 700 light-years from Earth.

WASP-94A b belongs to a class of extreme planets known as "Hot Jupiters." These massive gas worlds orbit exceptionally close to their parent stars in this case, just 5 million miles away, compared to Earth's 93 million miles from the Sun. Because of this proximity, the planet is tidally locked, keeping the same face permanently turned toward its star.

Its daytime temperatures skyrocket past an unimaginable 1,000 degrees Celsius, creating a brutal climate driven by intense temperature variations between its hemispheres.