James Webb Space Telescope Discovers Scorching Lava Planet TOI-561 b Surprisingly Retains Thick Atmosphere

New observations from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have revealed that the exoplanet TOI-561 b, a scorching lava planet orbiting extremely close to its star, surprisingly still possesses a thick atmosphere and reflective mineral clouds. This discovery challenges current theories, which would expect such a planet to have had its atmosphere stripped away long ago by intense stellar radiation. The presence of a thick, reflective atmosphere on TOI-561 b suggests that small rocky planets can retain their gas in environments previously thought to be inhospitable to atmospheric retention.