Overview

• Trinity College Dublin researchers used JWST NIRSpec/PRISM to track brightness over the planet’s 2.4‑hour rotation, retrieving temperature changes smaller than 5 °C linked to chemical variations consistent with rotating storms.
• The team reports strong auroral activity that appears to heat the upper atmosphere and may produce stratospheric hotspots, echoing processes seen at Jupiter.
• Spectral signatures indicate layered clouds with deeper iron particle clouds and higher silicate (sand‑like) clouds, alongside a finding of largely constant overall cloud coverage.
• SIMP‑0136 lies about 20 light‑years away and has a mass near 13 Jupiters, making it a bright, isolated target without host‑star contamination.
• Published in Astronomy & Astrophysics, the study marks the first paper from Trinity’s Exo‑Aimsir group and reanalyzes JWST data previously examined by a Boston University‑led team.