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Space
Space
Science
Stefanie Waldek

The James Webb Space Telescope is studying an exoplanet's eternal day — and eternal night

An extreme close-up of a purple world. To the left, the entire image is shrouded in shadow.

What's the James Webb Space Telescope's favorite movie? Eternal sunshine of the exoplanet WASP-39 b, perhaps.

In a new study, data from the James Webb Space Telescope reveals details of this mysterious gas giant exoplanet, which orbits a star about 700 light-years away from Earth. WASP-39 b is tidally locked to that star, which means the same side of the planet always faces its star. In other words, half of the planet experiences perpetual day, and the other experiences perpetual night.

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