JWST reveals exoplanet composition with unprecedented clarity

James Webb Space Telescope artist impression

Source: © Dima Zel/Shutterstock

Direct evidence of carbon enrichment in the planets around HR 8799 provides clues to their formation

Exoplanets orbiting a star 133 light years away contain a far greater abundance of carbon than the star itself, according to the first direct spectral data of this kind captured by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). The discovery has implications for how these planets formed, suggesting they share a similar evolutionary history to Jupiter and Saturn.