Scientists use James Webb Space Telescope to make 1st 3D map of exoplanet — and it's so hot, it rips apart water
From - Space,com , By Stefanie Waldek Edited by Amal Udawatta An artist's representation of WASP-18b, an exoplanet some 400 light-years from Earth. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech (K. Miller/IPAC)) Astronomers have produced the first-ever three-dimensional map of a planet outside our solar system — WASP-18b — marking a major leap forward in exoplanet research. Using the James Webb Space Telescope , researchers applied a new technique called 3D eclipse mapping, or spectroscopic eclipse mapping, to track subtle changes in various light wavelengths as WASP-18b moved behind its star . These variations allowed scientists to reconstruct temperature across latitudes, longitudes and altitudes, revealing distinct temperature zones throughout the planet's atmosphere. "If you build a map at a wavelength that water absorbs, you'll see the water deck in the atmosphere, whereas a wavelength that water does not ab...