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April 2026 findings from the James Webb Space Telescope have determined that the gas planet ‘Epsilon Indi Ab’ has cirrus clouds full of ammonia, a chemical found in the urine of both humans and animals.
Epsilon Indi Ab was first discovered in 2002 and was officially confirmed to exist in 2018. It is considered an exoplanet, which NASA defines as any planet outside our own solar system and orbits a star other than our sun.
In the 20-plus years since its discovery, scientists have been carefully observing the gas giant, and most recently found the presence of water-ice clouds in its atmosphere.
More specifically, these clouds are similar to cirrus clouds that are found in high altitudes in Earth’s atmosphere. But while our clouds carry mostly water vapor, the clouds on Epsilon Indi Ab are far more pungent.
Scientists first theorized that, much like Jupiter, this exoplanet must have “massive amounts of ammonia gas and clouds,” which would make the air smell overwhelmingly of urine.