Astronomers from Trinity College Dublin used the James Webb Space Telescope to study the atmosphere of SIMP-0136, a nearby rogue planet not bound to any star. They detected strong auroral activity—similar to Earth’s Northern Lights and Jupiter’s auroras—that heats the planet’s upper atmosphere.
The team also observed subtle temperature changes linked to rotating storm systems and found that the planet’s cloud cover, made of silicate grains (like sand), remained surprisingly constant. These are among the most precise atmospheric measurements of any extrasolar object to date.
