James Webb Space Telescope detects ammonia on exoplanet HATS-6 b

Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have identified ammonia in the atmosphere of HATS-6 b, a gas giant located approximately 500 light-years from Earth. The findings, published in The Astronomical Journal, also revealed the presence of water, methane, and carbon dioxide.

HATS-6 b presents two significant scientific puzzles. First, its size is unusual for its host star; as a giant planet orbiting a small red dwarf, its existence challenges the widely accepted core accretion theory, which suggests such stars lack the necessary protoplanetary disk mass to form Jupiter-sized planets. Second, early analysis suggests the planet may be much cooler than expected, with temperatures potentially near 120°C rather than the estimated 425°C, despite its three-day orbital period.

The planet was originally discovered in 2015 via the HatSouth survey. Researchers studied the atmosphere by observing starlight filtering through it as the planet transited its host star.