Free Astronomy Magazine March-April 2026

30 MARCH-APRIL 2026 ASTRO PUBLISHING S cientists using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope have ob- served a rare type of exoplanet, or planet outside our solar system, whose atmospheric composition challenges our understanding of how it formed. Officially named PSR An exoplanet whose composition defies explanation by NASA/ESA/CSA NASA Webb Mission Team J2322-2650b, this Jupiter-mass ob- ject appears to have an exotic he- lium-and-carbon-dominated atmo- sphere unlike any ever seen before. Soot clouds likely float through the air, and deep within the planet, these carbon clouds can condense and form diamonds. How the planet came to be is a mystery. “This was an absolute surprise,” said study co-au- thor Peter Gao of the Carnegie Earth and Planets Laboratory in Washing- ton. “I remember after we got the data down, our collective reaction