NASA’s Webb Catches Exoplanet Getting Roasted

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Credits: Artwork: NASA, ESA, CSA, Joseph Olmsted (STScI) 4 min read NASA’s Webb Catches Exoplanet Getting Roasted One well-done gas giant, coming right up! That’s the latest from researchers analyzing NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s observations of HD 80606 b, an exoplanet four times the mass of Jupiter with an extremely elliptical orbit that sweeps close by its Sun-like star. The research team is presenting their study and preliminary findings Tuesday at the 248th meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Pasadena, California. “Hot Jupiters are already considered some of the most extreme exoplanets we know of, but even among that population, HD 80606 b is one of the most extreme,” said Tiffany Kataria, the study’s principal investigator at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. “We typically think of hot Jupiters as hot gas giants sitting right next to their stars, but this planet’s highly eccentric orbit creates a completely different beast.” As the planet plunges close to its star, Webb shows its temperature skyrockets by 1,100 degrees Fahrenheit. Previous studies have shown that radical temperature swings can cause an exoplanet’s chemistry and clouds to change in real time. According to the research team, the dynamic conditions of HD 80606 b make the planet an ideal target to observe these changes with Webb’s powerful instruments. Image: Artist’s concept exoplanet HD 80606 b This artist’s concept shows exoplanet HD 80606 b being “roasted” as its orbit approaches periastron, the point at which it is closest to its host star, which is similar to our Sun. Artwork: NASA, ESA, CSA, Joseph Olmsted (STScI) “Observing a planet like HD 80606 b is actually very efficient because its unusual orbit, with the corresponding swings in temperature and chemical composition, allow us to gather data under varying conditions in just hours and apply those findings to other hot Jupiters or more conventional exoplanets,” said Laura C. Mayorga, co-investigator on the study and an exoplanet astronomer at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland. Measurements of temperature and chemical composition were done with spectroscopy, a technique scientists use to break light into its component colors to reveal information about the composition, temperature, motion, and physical properties of objects in space. The team used Webb’s MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) for an extended observation of HD 80606 b before, during, and after its periastron, or closest pass by its star. During periastron, the planet also passed behind the star from Webb’s perspective in what’s known as a secondary eclipse. The observation was years in the planning, as scheduling the time to catch the planet at this point was complex given its extremely elliptical 111-day orbit, and Webb’s own restrictions on where it can look during specific times of the year, based on Earth’s position in orbit around the Sun. Researchers say they have only begun to peel back the layers of an incredibly rich dataset, but they can clearly see a dramatic shift in the exoplanet’s temperature. “Webb has shown that the planet’s increase in temperature was even more extreme than we anticipated based on Spitzer data,” said Kataria. In fact, the planet had already been dubbed the “roasted exoplanet” and even got its own poster in NASA’s popular series. NASA’s now-retired Spitzer Space Telescope laid the groundwork of infrared observations of HD 80606 b, showing that more detailed spectroscopic data from Webb would be especially compelling. “Spitzer did amazing work on this exoplanet, and now Webb is building on that legacy by enabling us to drill down to distinguish specific chemical signatures like methane and carbon dioxide, which is just amazing progress,” said Ryan Challener, co-author and research associate at the Cornell Center for Astrophysics and Planetary Science. “There’s so much to learn from this one dataset here — we really are just getting started deciphering what Webb has to tell us.” The James Webb Space Telescope is the world’s premier space science observatory. Webb is solving mysteries in our solar system, looking beyond to distant worlds around other stars, and probing the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it. Webb is an international program led by NASA with its partners, ESA (European Space Agency) and CSA (Canadian Space Agency). For more information on Webb, visit: science.nasa.gov/webb Downloads & Related Information The following sections contain links to download this article’s images and videos in all available resolutions followed by related information links, media contacts, and if available, research paper and Spanish translation links. Related Images & Videos HD 80606 b (Artist’s Concept) This artist’s concept shows exoplanet HD 80606 b being “roasted” as its orbit approaches periastron, the point at which it is closest to its host star, which is similar to our Sun. Related Links Este Artículo en Español – “Telescopio Webb de la NASA Detecta un Exoplaneto Asandose” Read:  Webb’s Impact on Exoplanet Research Watch:  How to Study Exoplanets: Webb and Challenges Explore:  Eyes on Exoplanets Print: The Roasted Exoplanet Poster More Webb: News | Images | Science | Home Page Share Details Last Updated Jun 16, 2026 Location NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Contact Media Laura Betz NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, Maryland laura.e.betz@nasa.gov Leah Ramsay Space Telescope Science Institute Baltimore, Maryland Hannah Braun Space Telescope Science Institute Baltimore, Maryland Related Terms James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Astrophysics Exoplanets Goddard Space Flight Center Science & Research The Universe Related Links and Documents Este Artículo en Español – “Telescopio Webb de la NASA Detecta un Exoplaneto Asandose” HD 80606 b in NASA Exoplanet Catalog Roasted Exoplanet poster “Hot Jupiter” exoplanets Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From Webb James Webb Space Telescope Webb is the premier observatory of the next decade, serving thousands of astronomers worldwide. It studies every phase in the… Science Overview Exoplanets Webb Image Galleries The post NASA’s Webb Catches Exoplanet Getting Roasted appeared first on NASA Science.