NASA’s JWST Produces First-Ever 3D Map of Distant Planet WASP-18b

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has created the first-ever 3D atmospheric map of an exoplanet, revealing the extreme conditions on WASP-18b, an “ultra-hot Jupiter” located 400 light-years away. Using infrared eclipse mapping, scientists discovered a scorching hotspot over 2,700 °C where water molecules are breaking apart. This groundbreaking observation confirms long-held theories about atmospheric chemistry and dynamics on distant, heat-bathed gas giants.