Planetary chemistry

A rendering that is part of an animation of a Black Widow pulsar burning up its companion. Credit: NASA Goddard Spaceflight Center / Cruz deWilde

Webb found a planet that shouldn't exist – and it's made almost entirely of carbon

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Webb finds planet with carbon atmosphere orbiting pulsar, challenging current models of planet formation
SwRI is studying how Saturn's largest moon maintains its dense atmosphere. Scientists think Titan's core is covered in layers of ice and a subsurface liquid ocean. New experiments show that nitrogen and methane gases produced by organic matter in the core seep to the surface, regularly renewing the atmosphere. Credit: Southwest Research Institute

Scientists decipher Titan's dense atmosphere – new discoveries about the sources of nitrogen and methane

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New research suggests that nitrogen and methane seep from Titan's rocky core to the surface, helping to maintain its dense atmosphere. The findings could shed light on the planet's internal chemistry.
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