Here are today’s most important updates from the realm of Science and Space.

Metallic Skies & Blazing Winds: Inside the Wild Atmosphere of an Ultra-Hot Neptune

James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) observed the atmosphere of a strange exoplanet, LTT 9779 b and found stunning details about its extreme weather patterns. The observations revealed that this rare exoplanet orbits its G-type star, LTT 9779, in less than a day (probably 19 hours), and it is tidally locked (just like Earth's Moon), which means that one side always faces its star while the other remains in darkness. With temperatures reaching almost 2,000 degrees Celsius on its dayside, LTT 9779 is one of the few known planets in the "hot Neptune desert", where Neptunian planets aren't found that often. The exoplanet's dayside hosts reflective clouds on its cooler western hemisphere as it manages to create a striking contrast to the hotter eastern side.

Volcanic Shockwave: How Hayli Gubbi’s Eruption Sent Ash Across India

🌋📽️ This animation shows the sulfur emissions generated by the eruption of the Ethiopian volcano Hayli Gubbi.

The data represents the values of Total column volcanic sulphur dioxide using CAMS data, with the plume extending from the African continent to India.#CopernicusEU pic.twitter.com/7lcLnyM963

— Copernicus EU (@CopernicusEU) November 27, 2025

(Credit: X/@CopernicusEU)

A captivating animation released by the Earth Observation component of the EU Space Programme reveals how ash and sulfur dioxide from Ethiopia's Hayli Gubbi volcano eruption swept across continents, reaching from Africa over India and the Himalayas into China. The visualisation, based on Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) data for total column volcanic SO2, shows the massive plume originating on November 23, 2025, and stretching thousands of kilometers eastward. Hayli Gubbi, dormant for nearly 12,000 years in Ethiopia's Afar region, erupted explosively, injecting ash clouds up to 45,000 feet and sulfur-rich gases into the stratosphere.

Kerala Makes Cosmic History: Martian Craters Named After Its Cities

Familiar Kerala names like Thumba, Varkala, Periyar, Valiamala, and Bekal are no longer just cities of India, but they now grace craters and valleys on Mars, approved by the International Astronomical Union (IAU). A 3.5-billion-year-old crater in Mars' Xanthe Terra region honours pioneering Indian geologist MS Krishnan, with these Kerala-linked features nearby, proposed by Kerala-based researchers Asif Iqbal Kakkassery and Rajesh V.J. Krishnan Crater (70 km wide), Krishnan Palus (plain), and Periyar Vallis (valley) highlight signs of past water and ice. Smaller craters bear Kerala names: Valiamala (IIST's home), Thumba (Isro's birthplace in the 1960s), Varkala (geologically unique cliffs similar to Martian sites), Bekal (historic fort), and Periyar (Kerala's longest river). These namings immortalize Kerala's geography on the Red Planet, blending local heritage with cosmic exploration.

Lightning on Mars? NASA Rover Captures Shocking New Sounds

Mars is famous for its dust storms and swirling dust devils, scenes straight out of Dune. Now, NASA’s Perseverance rover has captured the first direct evidence of electrical discharges or mini-lightning crackling inside those storms. What was once just a theory has finally been confirmed by actual observations. You may wonder why anyone cares about a few Martian sparks. The answer is simple: studying these discharges will reveal secrets about the chemistry of the Martian atmosphere, its climate, and whether the Red Planet could ever support life. The microphone, the first ever to operate on Mars, recorded both electromagnetic and acoustic signatures of tiny electric shocks, much like the static zap one feels when touching a doorknob in dry weather. The friction between countless tiny dust particles strips electrons and builds up charge. On Earth, dust in desert regions rarely sparks.