Pink Planet’s Salt Clouds Solved

Science News Today | 2 Min News | The Daily News Now! · Jun 28, 2026 · 1m

Astronomers have cracked the mystery of the “Pink Planet,” a distant world 57 light-years away, revealing its atmosphere contains water vapor, methane, carbon dioxide, ammonia, and—shockingly—salty clouds. This is the first time salt clouds have been directly confirmed on a cold exoplanet, solving a 15-year-old prediction. Thanks to the James Webb Space Telescope’s unprecedented sensitivity, scientists were able to peer through the planet’s haze and model its atmosphere, discovering clouds were hiding key atmospheric layers. Officially named GJ 504 b, this 25-Jupiter-mass world, aged 2.5 to 4…