‘3,100°F temperature with glass clouds’: This exoplanet should not exist

Produced by: Manoj Kumar

Hot Neptune

LTT 9779 b is an ultra-hot Neptune, orbiting its star in less than a day, yet still wrapped in clouds—a rare survivor in the “hot Neptune desert.”

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Cloud Mystery

Despite extreme heat, LTT 9779 b holds reflective silicate clouds, defying expectations that its atmosphere should have been stripped away long ago.

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Stellar Furnace

Finding clouds on this planet is like discovering ice in a furnace—a paradox that reshapes planetary science and challenges old models.

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Brightest Planet

Thanks to its shiny cloud tops, LTT 9779 b is one of the brightest exoplanets ever observed, reflecting vast amounts of starlight back into space.

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Extreme Contrast

The planet is tidally locked, so one side boils under constant daylight, while the other side is shrouded in cooler clouds, creating dramatic temperature extremes.

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Alien Winds

Powerful, unknown winds whip across the planet, trying to balance out the heat—redistributing gases and clouds in ways unseen in our solar system.

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JWST Discovery

Using James Webb Space Telescope, scientists detected water vapor and mapped heat and light patterns, revealing alien weather systems in action.

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Survival Clues

Studying how clouds shield the planet from deadly radiation could unlock secrets about how other exoplanets survive harsh stellar environments.

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New Class

LTT 9779 b may be the first of a new class of extreme exoplanets, forcing scientists to rethink how planets form, evolve, and endure.

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