The world’s premier space observatory has spotted a mysterious and huge, free-floating planetary-mass object that’s “just 20 light-years from Earth,” NASA announced. Researchers recently used the James Webb Space Telescope to study the atmosphere of this “Super Jupiter,” dubbed SIMP 0136.

Because it's traveling without an interfering star, the James Webb Space Telescope was able to study a solitary, planet-like celestial body in particular detail.

NASA's groundbreaking James Webb Space Telescope has spotted a mysterious object that's freely floating through interstellar space.

Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have discovered complex atmospheric shifts in SIMP 0136, a free-floating planetary object. Findings include iron-rich and silicate clouds, as well as enigmatic hot spots and chemical changes in carbon compounds.

The James Webb Space Telescope is helping scientists study a strange mass about 20 light-years from Earth. Traveling unpredictably through the cosmos, the mass is thought to be either a rogue planet or a "failed star," also known as a brown dwarf. Only a close examination of the body's atmosphere will determine which it is.

An international team of researchers has discovered that variations in brightness must be the result of complex weather, providing crucial new insights into the 3-D complexity of gas giant atmospheres within and beyond our solar system.

Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have uncovered an unexpectedly complex atmosphere surrounding SIMP 0136, a massive, free-floating planetary object that drifts alone through space without orbiting a star.