Astronomers finally spotted evidence of auroras on Neptune after years of searching, raising new questions about the planet.

The findings provide strong evidence that four giant exoplanets 130 light-years from Earth formed much like Jupiter and Saturn.

Using Webb’s near-infrared spectrograph, astronomers have captured new images of Neptune that finally reveal the planet’s mysterious auroral activity. Faint hints of Neptune’s auroras were first detected during Voyager 2’s flyby of the planet, but Webb’s latest discovery is the first direct evidence of the phenomenon.

The James Webb Space Telescope identified the lights in the distant planet’s atmosphere, which could not be seen by earlier telescopes or spacecraft.

The JWST has spotted the presence of carbon dioxide on HR 8799’s four known planets, part of a system astronomers use to explore the formation of our own system. The results are consistent with models of how the Solar System’s giant planets formed.

Scientists suspected the ice giant hosted auroras—and had already observed them on Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus. But an observation of Neptune's lights remained elusive for decades

The relative quantities of volatile gases like methane and ethane can reveal key details about distant Kuiper Belt objects.

Astronomers have discovered four planets that are just a fraction of the mass of Earth orbiting Barnard’s Star, which is 6 light-years from Earth.