Overview
- JWST characterized PSR J2322-2650b, a Jupiter-mass companion just about 1 million miles from a millisecond pulsar, completing an orbit in 7.8 hours and stretched into a lemon shape by tides.
- Webb detected molecular carbon (C2 and C3) in a helium-dominated atmosphere with no signs of water, methane or carbon dioxide, implying severe depletion of oxygen and nitrogen.
- Because the pulsar emits mostly high-energy radiation invisible to JWST’s infrared instruments, researchers captured a pristine planetary spectrum across its orbit.
- Models indicate temperatures of roughly 1,200°F on the coolest night-side regions to about 3,700°F on the hottest day-side areas, with soot-like clouds and deep carbon that could condense into diamonds.
- Published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, the study concludes known formation scenarios fail to explain the chemistry, and a proposed interior carbon–oxygen crystallization process remains speculative.