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A Hot Jupiter's Clouds Vanished Where Its Dayside Burned Hottest
JWST separated reflected light from heat and measured transport becoming 7.1 ± 1.9 degrees more efficient per pressure decade.
Summary
JWST separated reflected light from heat and measured transport becoming 7.1 ± 1.9 degrees more efficient per pressure decade.
A phase curve follows a planet through its orbit, mixing reflected starlight with thermal emission. JWST's NIRSpec PRISM separated those components for NGTS-10 Ab from 0.5 to 5.5 micrometers, producing joint temperature and reflectance maps. The two were anti-correlated: models best explained the pattern with micron-scale silicate clouds evaporating across the hottest eastern substellar region and weak atmospheric drag. The thermal offset changed by 7.1 ± 1.9 degrees per pressure decade, indicating stronger heat transport deeper in the atmosphere. The interpretation depends on retrieval and circulation models rather than direct images of clouds.
Why it matters
JWST separated reflected light from heat and measured transport becoming 7.1 ± 1.9 degrees more efficient per pressure decade.
Limits and context
No additional limitation was separately recorded.
Key claims
JWST separated reflected light from heat and measured transport becoming 7.1 ± 1.9 degrees more efficient per pressure decade.
Evidence: source-2026-09-16-016
Sources
- arXiv preprint 2609.16115arXiv · primary research
Corrections
No corrections have been recorded for this story.