Webb Telescope Finds a Planet Being Stretched into a Lemon

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has observed a distant planet that is being deformed into an oval, lemon-like shape. It is the most "stretched" planet ever discovered. The planet, named WASP-103b, orbits extremely close to its host star. Powerful tidal forces—the same gravity that causes Earth's ocean tides—are pulling on the planet. The star's gravity is stretching the planet out of round. This is the first time astronomers have clearly detected this deformation in an exoplanet, a planet outside our solar system. WASP-103b is nearly twice the size of Jupiter but is being pulled into an oval shape. The planet orbits a star similar to our Sun, but one that spins very rapidly. This completes a new picture of how extreme stars can distort the worlds around them. Researchers measured the "tidal deformation" by analyzing starlight as the planet passed in front of its star. The data reveals how the planet's unusual shape affects the light. The discovery provides a new way to understand the internal structure of distant planets. By measuring how much a planet stretches, scientists can learn what it is made of.