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Researchers reveal a new class of molten planet
Artistic conception of the James Webb Space Telescope. Credit: NASA GSFC/CIL/Adriana Manrique Gutierre.
The exoplanet (a planet that orbits a star outside the Solar System), known as L 98-59 d, orbits a small red star about 35 light-years from Earth. Recent observations from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and ground-based observatories suggested something unusual: the planet has an especially low density, given its size (which is about 1.6 times that of the Earth) and contains significant amounts of hydrogen sulfide in its atmosphere.
Until now, astronomers would have placed a planet like this into one of two familiar categories, either a rocky ‘gas-dwarf’ with an atmosphere of hydrogen, or a water-rich world made of deep oceans and ice. But these new findings reveal that L 98-59 d fits neither description – instead, it appears to belong to an entirely different class of planet containing heavy sulphur molecules.
A planet with an ocean of magma
This discovery suggests that the categories astronomers currently use to describe small planets may be too simple. … We may then ask: what other types of planet are waiting to be uncovered?
Lead author Dr Harrison Nicholls (Department of Physics, University of Oxford)
Using advanced computer simulations, a team of researchers from the University of Oxford, the University of Groningen, the University of Leeds and ETH Zurich, reconstructed the planet’s history from shortly after its birth to the present day – a span of nearly five billion years. By directly linking telescope observations to these detailed physical models of planetary interiors and atmospheres, they were able to determine what must be happening deep inside the planet.
Their results reveal that the mantle of L 98-59 d is likely molten silicate (similar to lava on Earth), with a global magma ocean extending thousands of kilometres beneath. This vast molten reservoir allows the planet to store extremely large amounts of sulphur deep inside its interior, over geologic timescales. The magma ocean also helps L 98-59 d to retain a thick hydrogen-rich atmosphere containing sulphur-bearing gases such as hydrogen sulphide (H2S). Normally, this would be lost to space over time, due to X-ray radiation produced by the host star.
Over billions of years, chemical exchanges between its molten interior and atmosphere have shaped what telescopes observe on L 98-59 d today. The researchers suggest that L 98-59 d may be the first recognised member of a broader population of gas-rich sulphurous planets sustaining long lived magma oceans. If so, the diversity of worlds in our galaxy may be even greater than previously imagined.
Lead author Dr Harrison Nicholls (Department of Physics, University of Oxford) said: ‘This discovery suggests that the categories astronomers currently use to describe small planets may be too simple. While this molten planet is unlikely to support life, it reflects the wide diversity of the worlds which exist beyond the Solar System. We may then ask: what other types of planet are waiting to be uncovered?’
How sulphur shapes the planet
What’s exciting is that we can use computer models to uncover the hidden interior of a planet we will never visit… this research shows that it is possible to reconstruct the deep past of these alien worlds – and discover types of planets with no equivalent in our own Solar System.
Co-author Professor Raymond Pierrehumbert (Department of Physics, University of Oxford)
JWST observations from 2024 pointed to the presence of sulphur dioxide, among other sulphur gases, high in L 98-59 d’s upper atmosphere. The team’s new models show that these gases can be created when ultraviolet light from the host star, the red dwarf L 98-59, triggers chemical reactions. At the same time, the magma ocean below acts as a massive reservoir for buffering these volatile gases, storing and releasing them over billions of years after the planet formed. This combination of deep volatile storage within its interior and ultraviolet-driven atmospheric chemistry explains the planet’s notable properties.
According to the simulations, L 98-59 d likely formed with a very large amount of volatile material and may once have looked more like a larger sub-Neptune planet. Over billions of years, it gradually shrank as it cooled and lost some of its atmosphere. Importantly, magma oceans represent the universal initial states of all rocky planets (including the Earth and Mars), so new insights into magma ocean physics can inform us about our own world and its primordial history.
Co-author Professor Raymond Pierrehumbert (Department of Physics, University of Oxford) said: ‘What’s exciting is that we can use computer models to uncover the hidden interior of a planet we will never visit. Although astronomers can only measure a planet’s size, mass and atmospheric composition from afar, this research shows that it is possible to reconstruct the deep past of these alien worlds – and discover types of planets with no equivalent in our own Solar System.’
A wealth of new data are being delivered by JWST, with more to come from the upcoming Ariel and PLATO missions. The research team intend to apply their simulations to these new measurements, using machine learning methods, to map the diversity of worlds beyond the Solar System, and make connections with their early histories. In doing so, we will learn about how planets form, how they evolve, and thereby set expectations for which might be habitable (or not).
Dr Richard Chatterjee, (University of Leeds/ University of Oxford) said: ‘Our computer models simulate various planetary processes, effectively enabling us to turn back the clock and understand how this unusual rocky exoplanet, L 98-59 d, evolved. Hydrogen sulphide gas, responsible for the smell of rotten eggs, appears to play a starring role there. But, as always, more observations are needed to understand this planet and others like it. Further investigation may yet show that rather pungent planets are surprisingly common.’
The study ‘Volatile-rich evolution of molten super-Earth L 98-59 d’ has been published in Nature Astronomy.
For more information about this story or republishing this content, please contact [email protected]
An artist’s impression of L 98-59 d in orbit around its host star, the red dwarf L 98-59. Credit: Mark A. Garlick / markgarlick.com
On Wednesday, September 2, it was the Concours judging and private viewings to dominate the agenda for the day.
Twelve Concours classes were held across almost a century of motoring, including The Golden Age of Motoring, 100 Years of Carrrozzeria Touring, La Dolce Vita, 60 Years of the Lamborghini Miura and Passione Ferrari.
Two new classes also made their debut for 2026, Rare Breeds of the Digital Age and Hypercar Heaven, which recognise the growing importance of contemporary performance cars within the international collector market.
Judging will take place across Wednesday and Thursday, with the show field bringing together a 70-strong collection of classics, supercars and hypercars from around the world.
Some of the cars include Aa Maserati 8C 3000, Alfa Romeo Sprint Berlinetta, a one-off Maserati 3500GT Spyder Prototipo by Vignale, a very early Porsche 356 Split Window Coupé, Aston Martin DB3S, Lamborghini Miura P400S, Bizzarrini 5300GT, Ferrari 250 GT Series 1 Cabriolet, Bugatti EB110 Prototype, Aston Martin Valiant Prototype and the extraordinary Bugatti Bolide, one of just 40 produced worldwide.
Helen Pike has decided to step down as Master of Magdalen College School at the end of the 2026/27 academic year, the school in east Oxford announced in March.
MCS is one of the top performing schools in the country, ranking in the top 20 independent secondary schools in The Sunday Times Parent Power Schools Guide 2026.
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The new academic year will start next week, with Ms Pike preparing for one more year in charge before she hands over to her successor, who will take over in September 2027.
The first female Master at MCS, Ms Pike guided the board of governors to one of the most significant decisions in the school’s history, to become fully co-educational from 2027.
While there has been a co-educational sixth form at the school for 15 years, the school last month announced it will become fully co-educational over the coming decade.
Ms Pike said earlier: “I love MCS, and it is a perennial privilege to lead this remarkable school.
“Being Master of MCS is a brilliant job, and I am declaring my intention early in order to give MCS the very best opportunity to find the right Master for September 2027. I shall continue to do all in my power to further the fortunes of this wonderful school until then.
“I look forward to a new phase in my own professional life, one that builds on all that I have enjoyed and achieved in my career during the past 30 years.
“Having encouraged many cohorts of pupils to take sensible risks and to do something creative and different when the time feels right, I am doing just that.”
During Ms Pike’s tenure, MCS has been recognised as a Top 20 Independent School and South East School of the Year by the Sunday Times and won Independent School of the Year for Social Mobility.
Thanking her in his letter to the school community, chair of governors, Bob Price, said earlier this year: “Helen is an outstanding leader and will go with our sincere gratitude and warm thanks for her exceptional headship.
“She will leave the school in excellent shape for her successor.”
Recruitment for a replacement for Ms Pike is now under way.
Last month, Ms Pike congratulated pupils on their “outstanding success” in this year’s A-Level exams, after more than a quarter of pupils (43) achieved three A*s or more and 25 secured all A*s.
In total, 39 pupils from the 2026 cohort are heading to Oxbridge, while 22 have secured places to study medicine.
As part of the school’s expansion plans, MCS is preparing to build a new Science, Library and Partnerships building.
A spokeswoman said the new building will offer an exciting opportunity to reimagine the senior school site as staff look ahead to full co-education.
She added earlier: “With a vision to create a sector-leading science building in the centre of Oxford, the development will enable us to support an ambitious and forward-looking science curriculum, expanding to the emerging and rapidly advancing areas of robotics, AI and Big Data.”
Holding banners which read ‘For f**k’s sake, just stop oil’, the demonstrators took to the road in Parliament Square at noon today (Wednesday, September 2).
This was as Andy Burnham faced his first Prime Minister’s Questions, and many of the protestors glued themselves to the road.
The group demanded that the UK government stop approving all further oil and gas developments, and sign a Fossil Fuel Treaty to stop oil and gas extraction.
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Just Stop Oil say that the police are expected to arrest all those blocking the road, and that one lane has been left free of glued-on action takers to permit access for emergency vehicles.
Andy Burnham is due to make a decision on whether to allow more drilling for oil and gas in the North Sea.
Reverend James Crote, a Baptist Minister and grandfather from Chesterton near Bicester, said: “Today is my grandson’s first birthday. I have to take action for the sake of his future.
The 69-year-old added: “The government has been dilly-dallying about whether to say yes or no to the Rosebank oil field but, if we want a future for our children, there is no choice – it has to say ‘no’.
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“I am here as a Christian Minister because the Church has to speak out and demand that the government stops approving further oil and gas developments now. It’s time for us all to say ‘For God’s sake, Just Stop Oil’.”
Data from the Met Office indicates that 2026 was the hottest summer in UK recorded history, beating 2025, which was the previous hottest summer on record.
2026 was also one of the driest summers on record, delivering record-low food harvests.
Climbing temperatures have triggered wildfires across the country, and national fire chiefs said the wildfire risk facing the UK is “like nothing we have seen before”.
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Taking action, grandmother Victoria Ann Lynch-Staunton from Leamington Spa, said: “What is happening is beyond a tragedy.”
The 71-year-old added: “I beg everyone to join Just Stop Oil or governments will continue to prioritise endless growth and corporate profit over billions of lives – yours and your children.
“Wake up and smell the coffin. It is the responsibility of all of us to act now!”
A Just Stop Oil spokesperson said today: “We are all Just Stop Oil.
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“Every single person who fears deadly wildfires, devastating droughts, and spiralling food shortages is Just Stop Oil.
“The first duty of government is to keep the public safe – but by greenlighting oil and gas drilling, they endanger our survival while corporates and billionaires laugh their way to the bank.
“Every one of us feels alone and powerless in the face of this insanity, but we know there is massive political and public support for our demand.
“So we’re inviting everyone to join us at an online call on 3rd October 2026 – because it’s when we work together that we are powerful and win.”
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