NASA's Hubble Telescope Spies an Ultrahot Jupiter Where It Rains Liquid Gems

The exoplanet WASP-121b, which resides about 900 light-years from Earth, is an egg-shaped scorcher.

Temperatures on the planet’s day side can reach up to 4,600 degrees Fahrenheit.

But the planet’s night side has, until now, remained in the dark (sorry).

Telescopes at the South African Astronomical Observatory discovered WASP-121b in 2015.

He notes its extremely hot day side is hotter than some stars.

The answer: The night side gets down to about 2,200 degrees Fahrenheit.

Not very cold in Earth terms, but super cold compared to WASP-121b’s day side.

They were also able to calculate wind speeds on the planet exceeding 11,000 miles per hour.

“All of these exotic compounds are raining out of the planet’s atmosphere,” said Montet.

NASA’srecently launched James Webb Space Telescopeis expected to observe WASP-121b later this year.