The new map of WASP-18b, a hot-Jupiter exoplanet located approximately 325 light-years from Earth, reveals an atmosphere with distinct temperature zones — one so scorching that it breaks down water vapor. The hot-Jupiter WASP-18b. Image credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. The map of WASP-18b is the first applying a technique called 3D eclipse mapping, or spectroscopic eclipse mapping. This study builds on a 2D model that members of...
