Scientists Scan Mysterious Planet as It Drifts Through Space
1 min read
Summary
SIMP 0136 is a gas giant that orbits no star and has a mass approximately 13 times that of Jupiter.
Researchers from Boston University and elsewhere have observed the object that orbits our Sun, using the James Webb Space Telescope, finding that some infrared wavelengths came from clouds of evaporated iron and silicate minerals in the planet’s atmosphere.
The Earth-like variation in infrared brightness is thought to be caused by changes in cloud composition and temperature.
There are also suggestions that carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide might also affect the infrared brightness, although these cannot explain all the changes.
As such, SIMP 0136 remains a mystery and may be best defined as a “free-floating planet” or a “brown dwarf”.
