August 11, 2026
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- NASA’s James Webb space telescope has revealed a planet called Wasp-107b where specks of sand fall as rain.
| A central aim of the James Webb space telescope is to analyse the atmospheres of distant planets and search for bio-signature gases that could indicate the presence of life. |
- The planet, Wasp-107b, lies 200 light years away in the Virgo constellation.
- It is very large but very light, earning it the nickname the “candy floss” planet.
- It features silicate sand clouds and rain, scorching temperatures, raging winds and the distinct burnt-matches scent of sulphur dioxide.
- The planet was discovered in 2017.
- Wasp-107b is similar in mass to Neptune but almost the size of Jupiter, and its vast, diffuse nature allows the James Webb telescope to peer deep into its atmosphere.
- The latest observations reveal evidence of water vapour and sulphur dioxide, which would give the atmosphere a smell of burnt matches.
- It is also the first time the chemical composition of clouds on another planet has been identified – in this case, silicate sand.
- The planet’s atmosphere would feature something akin to Earth’s water cycle, but instead with sand cycling between solid and gaseous states.
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