Salty Clouds aren’t the only strange thing about this object in space

Short Wave

NPR

Nature, Daily News, Science, Life Sciences, News, Astronomy

4.7 • 6.6K Ratings

🗓️ 26 June 2026

⏱️ 10 minutes

🔗️ Recording | Apple Podcasts | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

There’s an object in space 25 times the size of Jupiter that’s stumped scientists for years. They haven’t been able to figure out if it’s a planet or a failed star. But scientists are one step closer to an answer thanks to the powerful James Webb Space Telescope. After analyzing data collected by the telescope, astronomers have uncovered unexpected new clues floating light years away from us: Salty clouds sitting in space as hot as some home ovens. And if this mystery isn’t enough, we have more to look forward to in this episode, including insights into the evolution of laughter and the burials of ancient human relatives.

Interested in more science in the news? Email us your question at shortwave@npr.org.

Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. It includes perks like bonus episodes, early access, archive access, curated playlists and sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

NPR Privacy Policy

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	You're listening to Shortwave from NPR.
0:05.4	Hey, short waver is Regina Barber here.
0:07.5	And Angela Zing.
0:08.7	With our biweekly science news roundup featuring Juana Summers of All Things Considered.
0:13.8	You're super fun.
0:14.5	I'm glad you're back.
0:15.2	Glad to be back with y'all.
0:16.4	Okay, so this week we've got a few mysteries unraveling.
0:19.7	First up, an object in space that might be a planet or might be a failed star.
0:24.7	And what new observations about its clouds can reveal about it.
0:28.7	Juana, Angela, if you could have a cloud made of anything, what would it be?
0:34.8	I mean, I feel like my brain automatically goes to marshmallows, which I feel
0:37.5	might be a cop out, but I'm also really hungry, so that might have something to do with this. Marshmails will not quench that hunger, though. But they taste really good. Yeah, it's true. Oh, man, I had something a little bit more, you wouldn't want to be in it, but I'm kind of tired this morning. and I was like, some coffee sounds great in a cloud, you know?
0:54.6	Coffee clouds.
0:56.2	That sounds awesome, actually. And it like raining down and just open your mouth. Exactly. And then you're caffeinated. Only if it's iced coffee. That's otherwise it might be a little painful. It'll be a cold storm. It's fine, a cold front. I personally think instantly like cotton candy.
1:11.6	Perfect.
1:12.1	But these clouds are none of those things.
1:15.7	Yeah, stay tuned.
1:17.0	Our second and third topics are a lot closer to home,
1:19.7	the exciting possibility of a sex-specific burial site of ancient human relatives,
1:24.1	and what great apes laughter can tell us about the evolution for human communication.
1:29.2	I don't have a fun question for this, though. And yet I'm still intrigued.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from NPR, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of NPR and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.