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3w ago

Webb Reveals Silicate Clouds and Moon-Forming Disk in YSES-1 System

Unusual sand-like clouds on the outer planet paired with a rare circumplanetary disk around its sibling are forcing astronomers to rethink how giant planets form.

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

  • Using the James Webb Space Telescope’s NIRSpec instrument, researchers captured simultaneous spectra of both YSES-1b and YSES-1c, producing the most detailed multi-planet dataset to date.
  • YSES-1c exhibits the strongest silicate absorption feature observed in any exoplanet, indicating high-altitude clouds composed of sand-like mineral grains.
  • Atmospheric modeling suggests those silicate clouds may contain iron particles that could precipitate as rain into YSES-1c’s atmosphere.
  • The inner world, YSES-1b, hosts a circumplanetary disk that appears capable of birthing moons despite the system’s 16.7 million-year age.
  • The wide orbits of both planets and the longevity of the disk challenge current models of gas giant formation and evolution.