Lemon-Shaped Exoplanet’s Confusing Atmosphere
- Astronomers have unexpectedly discovered an exoplanet with a remarkably strange shape and atmosphere.
- Researchers consider this to be one of the most unusual objects ever detected outside our Solar System.
- The study, entitled "A Carbon-rich Atmosphere on a Windy Pulsar Planet," was published in the journal Astrophysical Journal Letters on December 16, 2025.
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Lemon planet: Discovery of a Strange Exoplanet Orbiting a Pulsar
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What Happened: The Discovery of PSR J2322-2650b
Astronomers have unexpectedly discovered an exoplanet with a remarkably strange shape and atmosphere. Dubbed a ‘lemon’ planet, PSR J2322-2650b possesses an atmosphere composed primarily of carbon and helium, located approximately 2000 light-years from Earth. this discovery stems from observations made by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) of the object PSR J2322-2650b.
Researchers consider this to be one of the most unusual objects ever detected outside our Solar System. Michael Zhang, a study co-author and astrophysicist at the University of Chicago, stated, ”I’m open to the possibility that this is a completely new type of object,” (as told to Claire Cameron in Scientific American).
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The study, entitled “A Carbon-rich Atmosphere on a Windy Pulsar Planet,” was published in the journal Astrophysical Journal Letters on December 16, 2025.
Why is This Planet Shaped Like a Lemon? Orbiting a Pulsar
PSR J2322-2650b was initially reported in 2017. What sets this planet apart is its orbit around a pulsar – the dense core of a dead star that rapidly rotates and emits beams of electromagnetic radiation.
The planet’s proximity to the pulsar is exceptionally close, only about one million miles. For comparison, Earth orbits the Sun at a distance of approximately 90 million miles. This close proximity subjects the planet to intense gravitational forces from the pulsar, stretching it into an elongated, lemon-like shape.
“The distance is close enough that matter is actually channeled from the object to the pulsar,” explained Peter gao, a study author and planetary scientist at Carnegie Science (as quoted by jonathan O’Callaghan from the New York Times in Smithsonian magazine on December 22, 2025).
Gao theorizes that the planet features sharp, pointed regions where material is drawn towards the pulsar and subsequently rotates around it.
Researchers believe that much of the planet’s material is being stripped away by the pulsar’s intense radiation and gravity.
What does the Atmosphere Tell Us? A Carbon-Rich Composition