Hot and cloudy: high temperature clouds in super-Earths and sub-Neptunes
Abstract
ABSTRACT James Webb Space Telescope observations provide for the first time evidence for an atmosphere on a rocky exoplanet – 55 Cnc e. The atmosphere of 55 Cnc e is hot with ${T}_{\text{eq}}\gt 2000$ K and shows strong variability, for which cloud formation above a molten crust could be one possible explanation. The composition of the atmosphere of 55 Cnc e is still unknown but suggests the presence of volatiles. We have run cloud formation models on a grid of $\text{N}$-, $\text{O}$-, $\text{C}$-, and $\text{H}$-dominated atmospheres to investigate which type of cloud we could expect on hot super-Earths and hot sub-Neptunes (1000 K
Fields of Study & Subjects
Astro and Planetary Science
Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies
Astronomy and Astrophysical Research
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Volume
- 546
- Issue
- 4
- Publication date
- 24 January 2026
- Language
- EN