# James Webb Space Telescope Solves Decade-Long Mystery of the 'Pink Planet' — Salt Clouds Found in Alien Atmosphere

*2026-06-28 22:02 UTC · Science · 2 min read*

> JWST has solved the 13-year mystery of exoplanet GJ504b by detecting exotic salt clouds in its atmosphere — the first direct confirmation of such clouds on a cold planetary body.

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has finally cracked the decade-long mystery of GJ504b, a peculiar exoplanet nicknamed the "Pink Planet" located 57 light-years from Earth. Scientists have detected exotic salt clouds in the world's atmosphere — a composition unlike anything observed in a planetary body before, with one researcher remarking: "We realized it was not like anything we have analyzed before."

GJ504b has puzzled astronomers since its discovery in 2013. With a mass roughly 25 times that of Jupiter, it teeters on the boundary between a giant planet and a brown dwarf. What makes it unusual is its remarkably cool temperature of around 290°C (550°F) — far colder than most gas giants captured through direct imaging, which typically exceed 500°C. Scientists had long struggled to explain its atmospheric readings with standard models.

The breakthrough came when researchers introduced salt clouds into their atmospheric simulations, producing a precise match with JWST's spectroscopic observations. The finding provides the strongest direct evidence yet that salt clouds can exist in the atmospheres of extremely cold substellar bodies — a phenomenon long theorized but never confirmed. The research, published on June 18, 2026, underscores JWST's growing power in revealing the unexpected chemical diversity of worlds beyond our solar system.

## Sources

- [space.com](https://www.space.com/astronomy/exoplanets/james-webb-space-telescope-finds-a-salty-surprise-on-famous-pink-planet)
- [sciencedaily.com](https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/06/260623014009.htm)
- [news.northwestern.edu](https://news.northwestern.edu/stories/2026/06/famous-pink-planet-harbors-a-salty-surprise)

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TechTools News · https://techtools.cz/tools/news/article/1909-james-webb-space-telescope-solves-decade-long-mystery-of-the-pink-planet-salt
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