JWST reveals WASP-121b: Hot Jupiter with two baffling helium tails.

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News18•11-12-2025, 23:25
JWST reveals WASP-121b: Hot Jupiter with two baffling helium tails.
- •JWST discovered WASP-121b, a 'hot Jupiter' exoplanet, challenging scientific understanding.
- •The planet, also called 'Tylos', has an extreme temperature of 4200°F (2300°C) and a 30-hour year.
- •WASP-121b exhibits two massive helium tails, formed by atmospheric escape, observed in unprecedented detail.
- •One tail trails the planet, while the other mysteriously leads it, baffling scientists and current models.
- •The tails are exceptionally long, extending 100 times the planet's width and three times the star-planet distance.
Why It Matters: WASP-121b's two helium tails challenge existing exoplanet atmospheric escape models.
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