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In the Spitzer Space Telescope’s 16 years of operation, it observed many Solar System objects and environments. In this second Review Article of a pair, Spitzer’s insight into asteroids, dust clouds and rings and the ice giant planets are summarized.

The Spitzer Space Telescope made huge advances in the study of debris disks around main-sequence stars and white dwarfs, increasing their number by an order of magnitude, and leading the way for the next generation of space-based infrared missions.

Spitzer revealed the properties of luminous and ultraluminous infrared galaxies, the role of starbursts and actively accreting supermassive black holes in powering these sources and found evidence for energetic feedback on their interstellar gas and dust.

A comprehensive study of the Kepler-138 system reveals the twin nature of Kepler-138 c and d and the presence of a fourth planet. Remarkably, the warm-temperate planet Kepler-138 d is probably composed of 50% volatiles by volume, indicative of a water world, rather than a rocky world, despite its small ~1.5 R_⊕ size.

A giant planet candidate roughly the size of Jupiter but more than 14 times as massive is observed by TESS and other instruments to be transiting the white dwarf star WD 1856+534.

This pilot trial showed that perioperative treatment with the isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) inhibitor safusidenib of patients with low-grade IDH-mutant glioma, with craniotomy and lumbar puncture before and after treatment, is feasible and safe and enabled in-depth translational investigation of safusidenib treatment-induced changes in the tumor, including electrophysiological effects.

The authors report on a temperate Earth-sized planet orbiting the cool M6 dwarf LP 791-18 with a radius of 1.03 ± 0.04 R_⊕ and an equilibrium temperature of 300–400 K, with the permanent night side plausibly allowing for water condensation.

Brown dwarfs are small stars that are believed to be made of a warm dense plasma that cannot support hydrogen fusion as larger stars do. Here, the authors present a method for studying the properties, such as resistivity, of warm dense plasmas in the laboratory.

A transiting planet with a period of about 8.5 days and a radius 0.4 times that of Jupiter is reported within the debris disk around the star AU Microscopii.

Silane, which is a precursor to the sandy surfaces of rocky planets and dusty clouds on gas giants, is seen directly in another world—a low-metallicity brown dwarf in which oxidation is slow and gas mixing is fast.

The authors find that a nearby planetary system has two terrestrial planets that transit in front of their star (from our perspective). Transiting terrestrial planets are sought after, as they can be characterized in detail, including their atmospheres. Having two in the same system is very rare.

By day 1,041 after explosion, SN Ia-CSM 2018evt had produced an estimated 0.01 solar masses of dust in the cold, dense shell behind the supernova ejecta–circumstellar medium interaction, ranking it as one of the most prolific dust-producing supernovae ever recorded.

 Observations with the sensitive mid-infrared spectrometer MIRI on board JWST reveal the presence of a water vapour reservoir in the terrestrial plant-forming zone of the young planetary system PDS 70.

Last year, three Earth-sized planets were discovered to be orbiting the nearby Jupiter-sized star TRAPPIST-1; now, follow-up photometric observations from the ground and from space show that there are at least seven Earth-sized planets in this star system, and that they might be the right temperature to harbour liquid water on their surfaces.

Methane emission from a very cool brown dwarf, perhaps arising from an aurora, has been detected in James Webb Space Telescope observations.

Integrated single-cell transcriptomic and genetic characterization of 121 adult glioblastomas identifies heterogeneity at cell type, cell state and baseline expression program levels associated with specific mutations that form three stereotypical ecosystems.

Transmission spectroscopy observations from the James Webb Space Telescope show the detection of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of the gas giant exoplanet WASP-39b.

A rapidly growing black hole in a very active phase has been observed with JWST ~1.5 billion years after the Big Bang. Bright in X-rays, it is accreting at a rate 4,000% in excess of the Eddington limit, offering insights into early black hole growth.

An unusual ultraviolet compact object associated with a dusty starburst has been observed at a redshift of about 7.2, with a luminosity that falls between that of quasars and galaxies, possibly in transition between the two. 

Near-infrared imagery and spectroscopy from JWST of the Herbig-Haro 211 system, an analogue of the young Sun, reveals  supersonic jets of hot molecules that can explain the origin of the ‘green fuzzies’ phenomenon.

Orbital parameters for the seventh Earth-sized transiting planet around star TRAPPIST-1 are reported, along with an investigation into the complex three-body resonances linking every member of this planetary system.

The dayside thermal emission spectrum and brightness temperature map of the ultra-hot Jupiter WASP-18b obtained from the NIRISS instrument on the JWST showed water emission features, an atmosphere consistent with solar metallicity, as well as a steep and symmetrical decrease in temperature towards the nightside.

JWST observations suggest that both pebbles and planetesimals played an important role in forming the giant exoplanet WASP-121 b beyond the H₂O ice line. They also indicate that strong vertical mixing likely drives the nightside atmospheric chemistry.

A complete revolution of exo-Neptune LTT 9779 b was observed with the NIRISS/SOSS instrument onboard the JWST. The resulting full phase curve is indicative of an equatorial jet that transports heat from the dayside to the colder nightside, resulting in an asymmetric distribution of clouds on the planet.

Magnetic reconnection, thought to drive solar eruptions, has been studied with remote sensing. The Parker Solar Probe has directly measured reconnection-associated plasma properties in situ in the solar corona, deepening our understanding of the process.

Direct observations of silicate clouds in the atmosphere of the exoplanet YSES-1 c and the first circumplanetary disk silicate emission around its sibling planet YSES-1 b are reported.

A combined analysis of datasets across four JWST instrument modes provides a benchmark transmission spectrum for the Saturn-mass WASP-39 b. The broad wavelength range and high resolution constrain orbital and stellar parameters to below 1%.

The altered and thermally metamorphosed CY chondrites are shown to be the meteoritic analogue of asteroid Phaethon. This suggests that Phaethon’s activity is driven by gas released from the decomposition of near-surficial material heated at perihelion, whereas the interior is kept relatively unaltered and hydrated.

Phase-resolved mid-infrared observations from JWST of the hot gas giant WASP-43b detect a day–night difference of 659 ± 19 K. Comparison with climate models shows that the observations are compatible with cloudy skies, at least on the nightside, and the lack of methane detection suggests the presence of disequilibrium chemistry.

Using JWST, the molecules seen in planetary atmospheres can be traced back to their cold origins in ices formed in dense interstellar clouds, before the onset of star formation, revealing that chemical diversity and complexity is achieved early.

Here, the atmosphere of the extrasolar planet GJ 436b is studied during its 'secondary eclipse'. The findings reveal the presence of some H₂O and traces of CO₂. The best-fit compositional models contain a high CO abundance and a substantial methane deficiency relative to thermochemical equilibrium models for the predicted hydrogen-dominated atmosphere. Disequilibrium processes such as vertical mixing and polymerization of methane may be required to explain this small methane-to-CO ratio.

A longitudinal thermal brightness map of the super-Earth exoplanet 55 Cancri e reveals strong day–night temperature contrast, indicating inefficient heat redistribution consistent with 55 Cancri e either being devoid of atmosphere or having an optically thick atmosphere with heat recirculation confined to the planetary dayside.

Global circulation theory predicts strong equatorial jets at the equators of hot gas giant exoplanets that blow hot gas to the east, resulting in an eastward hotspot. Here, Dang et al. present a detection of a hotspot significantly offset to the west.

A long-period radio transient with coincident radio and X-ray emission and observational properties unlike any known Galactic object has been observed by the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder.

A faint galaxy has been detected in the very early Universe thanks to deep observations and a massive cluster gravitationally magnifying its emission. One out of only five such galaxies known, this detection constrains how the Universe was reionized.

Highly abundant hydrocarbons in a very low-mass star’s disk are detected using the JWST. This unique chemical composition is probably due to the destruction of carbon grains, and the resulting high gaseous C/O ratio may have a profound impact on the composition of growing exoplanets.

Phase curve measurements for the small (1.3 Earth radii) terrestrial exoplanet LHS 3844b show absence of a thick atmosphere, in agreement with theoretical predictions.

The thermal emission spectrum of the rocky exoplanet 55 Cancri e obtained by the NIRCAM and MIRI instruments aboard the JWST indicates that it has a secondary volatile-rich atmosphere, possibly arising from a magma ocean.

JWST detections of low-mass young stellar objects with infrared excesses in the Small Magellanic Cloud provide indications that the circumstellar material used in planet formation is available in low-metallicity environments.

We present James Webb Space Telescope observations that detect the 3.3 μm polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon feature in a galaxy observed less than 1.5 billion years after the Big Bang.

Using slitless spectroscopy, JWST/NIRCam has simultaneously mapped three ice species across a dense cloud along 44 lines of sight. This cospatial mapping enables the local cloud chemistry to be probed with a spatial resolution of hundreds of astronomical units, representing a step change in ice mapping.

Edge-localized plasma modes in a tokamak can damage its innermost wall. Simulations now show that fast ions can modify the spatio-temporal structure of these modes. These effects need to be considered in the optimization of control techniques.