The judge said, 'Without a doubt, you did a lot of dumb things when you got out, things that are arguably criminal'

Experts have discovered a fluffy “alien” planet where it rains sand in stunning new observations from the James Webb Space Telescope. The bizarre-looking planet is officially known as exoplanet WASP-107b and has a cloud of silicate sand that exists high within its atmosphere giving it its strange fluffy appearance. NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has been responsible for some astounding findings since it was launched in 2021, including a mysterious galaxy shaped like a question mark. Now, observations made by the telescope have been used by experts who have been able to determine the atmospheric composition of the exoplanet that was pictured. A team of European astronomers found that water vapour, sulfur dioxide and silicate sand clouds existed in the exoplanet’s diverse atmosphere. The exoplanet WASP-107b is one of the lowest-density planets that astronomers are aware of. To put it into context, it is the same size as Jupiter, but has just 12 per cent of Jupiter’s mass. Thanks to its low density, it has allowed scientists to take a deeper look into the planet’s atmosphere, exploring 50 times deeper than would be possible with denser planets. The discovery of sulfur dioxide was a surprise because the host star it orbits only emits a small amount of high-energy light photons. But, its low-density atmosphere allows the photons to penetrate WASP-107b’s atmosphere where the chemical reaction that creates sulfur dioxide can occur. They also discovered that it essentially rains sand on the exoplanet due to the presence of clouds high in the atmosphere made up of fine silicate particles. Experts believe the clouds of sand form in the same way as rain does on Earth as the droplets continually fall and condense back into cloud form. The lead author of the study, Leen Decin from Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium, explained: “JWST is revolutionizing exoplanet characterisation, providing unprecedented insights at remarkable speed.” She added: “The discovery of clouds of sand, water, and sulfur dioxide on this fluffy exoplanet… is a pivotal milestone. It reshapes our understanding of planetary formation and evolution, shedding new light on our own solar system.” How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel Sign up to our free indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje will clash in the main event of UFC 291 tonight, in a rematch with the ‘BMF’ title on the line. Poirier beat Gaethje via fourth-round TKO in 2018, and the pair’s careers followed similar trajectories in the time since. Poirier, 34, won the interim lightweight title in 2019 but failed to unify the belt against Khabib Nurmagomedov, losing to the Russsian via submission; Gaethje, 34, then collected the interim gold in 2020 but was also submitted by Khabib. Each man then got a second crack at the gold but came up short again, with Poirier submitted by Charles Oliveira in 2021 and Gaethje suffering the same fate last May. However, Poirier and Gaethje have both bounced back since then, with the former stopping Michael Chandler and the latter beating Rafael Fiziev. And when Poirier and Gaethje rematch in Salt Lake City, Utah, tonight, the ‘Baddest Motherf*****’ belt will be up for grabs. The title has only appeared once before, when Jorge Masvidal beat Nate Diaz to become the inaugural champion in 2019. In this evening’s co-main event, former middleweight champion Alex Pereira moves up to light-heavyweight to face Jan Blachowicz, an ex-title holder in the division. Follow live updates and results from UFC 291, below. For the full odds on the Poirier vs Gaethje fight, click here for our betting page. Read More UFC 291 live stream: How to watch Poirier vs Gaethje online and on TV this weekend Michael Bisping: ‘The challenge of coming back to grapple appeals to me’ Conor McGregor pays emotional tribute to Sinead O’Connor after singer’s death

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin visited Australia Friday on the final leg of a Pacific tour designed to reinforce...

Liam Gallagher has responded after being accused of “tormenting” a young Manchester United fan during Saturday’s FA Cup Final. Gallagher’s beloved Manchester City beat United 2-1 on the day, and he seemed to be enjoying himself as the BBC cameras focused on his reactions for both City goals. After the second goal was scored, he could be seen interacting with a young fan in a United shirt. Gallagher celebrated the goal and then shook the shoulders of a fan in what seemed like a teasing manner. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Now, the singer has stated that he wasn’t “antagonising” the child as some apparently claimed on social media. Instead, he clarified what most people already thought – that it was all a bit of good natured fun. He wrote on Twitter: "The young lad I was apparently antagonising was my mates kid who I was consoling. "He’s a Utd fan I love and adore him we’re not all c****s CTID LG x." It comes after Liam’s brother Noel revealed what it would take to put things behind him and “consider” getting Oasis back together. Noel and brother Liam went their separate ways in 2009 and haven’t played together since then. However, it now looks like Noel could be more open to the idea than he has been for years. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

By Daniel Trotta The New York City Police Department on Tuesday agreed to scale back its enforcement of

The Minnesota Wild signed goalie Filip Gustavsson to a three-year, $11.25 million contract that avoids salary arbitration after his strong first season with the club

America’s top military officer says training for Ukrainian forces on advanced U.S. Abrams tanks has started, but those those weapons crucial over the long term in trying to expel Russia from occupied territory will not be ready in time for Kyiv’s imminent counteroffensive

(Reuters) -U.S. industrial conglomerate 3M Co and the city of Stuart, Florida are making "significant" progress to settle a water

'I continue to represent various Palestinian movements and individuals. I have since 1995,' said Stanley Cohen

Hosts Zimbabwe and former champions Sri Lanka are in prime position to clinch the final two qualifying spots for this year's Cricket World Cup, while two-time winners the West Indies risk...

"It was like a spiral," said Gilles Yapi Yapo, a former Ivory Coast international football star who said he was cheated out of 200,000 euros ($213...