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JWST Reveals Silicate Clouds and Moon-Forming Disk in Young Exoplanet System

These findings showcase JWST’s ability to capture simultaneous spectra of distant exoplanets, offering unparalleled insight into planetary formation processes.

An artist's rendition of the sun-like star YSES-1 in the center, with the planet YSES-1 b and its dusty circumplanetary disk (right) and the planet YSES-1 c with silicate clouds in its atmosphere (left), is seen in this handout image obtained by Reuters on June 11, 2025. Ellis Bogat/Handout via REUTERS/Illustration THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES
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Overview

  • Silicate clouds in YSES-1c’s atmosphere produce the strongest silicate absorption feature seen in an exoplanet and may precipitate iron rain.
  • A circumplanetary disk detected around YSES-1b could serve as a nursery for moon formation in a 16.7-million-year-old system.
  • The YSES-1 system hosts two gas giants several times larger than Jupiter orbiting a sun-like star 309 light-years away, both still in formation.
  • Webb’s Near Infrared Spectrograph captured both exoplanets in a single exposure, yielding the most detailed multi-planet spectral dataset to date.
  • These observations deepen understanding of atmospheric composition and satellite formation, informing models of solar system origins.