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A mysterious wavelength of light is missing from the dwarf planet Pluto and Saturn's supersized moon Titan, new James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) observations show. The surprising discovery hints that these worlds harbor an unknown molecule that has not been seen in any other solar system world or exoplanet so far.

Every element or molecule in the universe absorbs unique wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation . Therefore, one of the main ways astronomers study distant worlds — both inside and outside the solar system — is by closely examining the light that reflects off them and searching for dark "absorption lines" that correspond to the wavelengths of known chemical compounds.

For example, molecular oxygen absorbs light at 230 nanometers, so if the electromagnetic spectrum of a faraway exoplanet has an absorption line at this frequency, researchers can be confident that its atmosphere contains oxygen, according to a 2021 study .

JWST has proved to be exceptionally good at capturing electromagnetic spectra and identifying specific chemicals in exoplanet atmospheres , around distant stars and within primitive galaxies . It has even identified a molecule on one alien world that could point to extraterrestrial life .

In a new study, uploaded June 11 to the preprint server arXiv , researchers analyzed JWST data from Pluto and Titan , focusing on very small wavelengths that have been relatively unexplored until now. This revealed a specific absorption line at around 5.11 micrometers in both worlds' spectra. (These findings have not been published in a peer-reviewed journal yet.)

The James Webb Space Telescope is specially designed to be able to detect subtle absorption signals from distant worlds. (Image credit: Getty Images) The team pored through similar studies on other planetary spectra but "did not find any band referenced in these publications that corresponds to the location of the observed absorption in Titan and Pluto," the researchers wrote in the paper.

A molecular mystery

The discovery is even stranger because there are very few similarities between Pluto and Titan that could explain why they share a molecule not found anywhere else.

Titan is the largest of Saturn's many moons and is even larger than Mercury . It is also the only solar system world, other than Earth, that is known to have liquid rivers and oceans on its surface. Pluto, on the other hand, is a completely frozen world that's around half the size of Titan and roughly four times farther from the sun than Saturn's satellite is.

Both worlds do have similar atmospheres that are rich in methane and nitrogen. However, the researchers are confident that the molecule responsible for the 5.11-micrometer absorption line is located on both worlds' surfaces, not in their atmospheres.

Titan and Pluto are very different worlds. Saturn's largest moon has liquid on its surface and is around four times closer to the sun than the dwarf planet. (Image credit: Getty Images) Pluto's absorption line is around three times thicker than Titan's, meaning the mystery molecule is likely much more abundant on the dwarf planet. But on Titan, the molecule seems to be unevenly distributed, with a stronger absorption line on its trailing side — the hemisphere opposite to its forward momentum around Saturn — than on its leading side.

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The researchers proposed that it could be benzene — a ring-shaped hydrocarbon — mixed with an unknown molecule, or some form of acetylene or ketene ice. However, much more work is needed to prove that any of these potential candidates are responsible for absorbing this specific wavelength, they wrote.

NASA's Dragonfly spacecraft, which is set to launch no earlier than 2028 and fly through Titan's atmosphere in 2034, could eventually shed more light on the situation. The helicopter-like craft's onboard spectrograph could identify the mystery molecule on Saturn's moon, which would also help reveal if it is viable on Pluto, the researchers suggested. But in the meantime, we'll have to wait to unravel this curious cosmic conundrum.

See how well you know our planetary neighborhood with our solar system quiz!

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Health professionals across Europe are calling for an EU climate and health strategy, write Mark Wilson and Dr Paul De Raeve ; plus a letter from Nadine Henderson

You report on hospitals declaring critical incidents as their systems fail in the heat ( Hospitals in England declare critical incidents as machines and IT fail in heat, 25 June ). This is a crisis that health professionals saw coming.

It is not England’s alone. During June’s record-breaking European heatwave, France raised its health system to the highest level of emergency mobilisation, while hospitals across Italy, Spain and Germany reported surging admissions and cooling systems that could not cope. Everywhere, the people caring for patients are working sleep-deprived in sweltering, un-air-conditioned wards, with consequences for both staff wellbeing and the safety of care. Across Europe, we are hearing from health professionals that conditions are becoming dangerous and systems remain unprepared.

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TL;DR

Snapseed version 4.0.8 includes options to add grid lines and a level to the app’s camera viewfinder.

Both new features are customizable, with multiple grid and level types to choose from.

Snapseed v4.0.8 is rolling out via the Play Store now.

Snapseed got a huge overhaul in version 4.0 , finally bringing the Android version up to speed with the iOS experience . Released in May, the latest redesign of Snapseed is both a photo editor and a camera app , complete with optional manual controls for things like focus and exposure. A new update for the app is rolling out now, and it brings with it more options mobile photography enthusiasts will appreciate.

As spotted by 9to5Google , the latest version of Snapseed includes options to add grid lines and a level to the app’s camera UI. Both are valuable tools for helping compose a shot, and are staples in other camera apps — including the stock camera app on Pixel phones.

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New Glenn Catastrophe Aftermath: What's Next for the Space Industry? | Ars Live

This week Ars hosted a live discussion with two space industry experts about the aftermath of the catastrophic explosion of the New Glenn rocket in late May.

Along with Ars Technica Space Editor Eric Berger; the director of research at Quilty Space , Caleb Henry; and the host of the Main Engine Cut Off podcast , Anthony Colangelo, spoke about various topics. Chief among them was the implications of this failure for NASA's attempt to land humans on the Moon for the Artemis IV mission. Blue Origin and SpaceX are both building landers to support this goal and the rockets to deliver them to the Moon.

During the conversation, Berger reported that the current Blue Origin "architecture" for a human mission would require four launches of new variant of the New Glenn rocket, known as 9x4, because it has nine first stage engines, and four upper stage engines. This is a more powerful version than the "7x2" variant that exploded a little more than a month ago. Blue Origin has not set a target date for the 9x4 rocket's debut, but some sources have indicated the company is targeting late 2027 or early 2028.

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Today in Books readers, I have an important update : this is the last week of this newsletter. Luckily, you can still follow all the book news by signing up for the Book Riot Newsletter , which goes out on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. It’s the same book news curation, covered by the same Book Riot writers, but in an expanded newsletter with more content. See you there!

Which Book Will be an American Classic in 250 Years?

On the 250th anniversary of the United States of America, USA Today asked authors which books they think will be considered American classics in another 250 years. Some picked new releases that they think will stand the test of time—Casey McQuiston endorsed Palaver by Bryan Washington for its “soulful and sincere” writing and “restrained and attentive prose.” Others chose classics they think will still be relevant in 250 years, like Matt Dinniman’s pick, Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh.

I’m Canadian, so I can’t pretend I’m invested in the future of the Great American Novel, but Beloved by Toni Morrison feels like the obvious answer here. As for a new release I think will still be around in 250 years, I’m going to place my bet on Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo. Historical fiction tends to age more gracefully, and it’s such a perfect snapshot of American history, including all the ugliness. I can imagine it still being taught in schools in 250 years.

The Most Popular Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books of the Past 3 Years

Goodreads has put together a list of the most popular SFF books of the past three years—that is, books that neatly fall into either sci-fi or fantasy (not romantasy) and were published between June 2023 and June 2026. They also need to have an average star rating of over 3.5.

My reading taste is strange and particular, so I’m not surprised that I’ve only read about five of their 104 picks. I was pleasantly surprised by how many queer books I spotted here, though. Queer SFF has taken off in recent years and has really broken through to the mainstream, including with books like Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab and Bookshops & Bonedust (Legends & Lattes) by Travis Baldree. Another one of my favorites that I was pleasantly surprised to see here is The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar, a queer fae murder ballad novella. (If that doesn’t hook you, I don’t know what will.)

Unsurprisingly, the sci-fi list is crowded with Matt Dinniman and Martha Wells titles, but alongside them are experimental and literary takes on sci-fi, like Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor, Sky Full of Elephants by Cebo Campbell, and The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami.

Bid in the Romancing the Vote Auction to Defend Democracy

This is the third Romancing the Vote auction , created by romance authors Courtney Milan and Kit Rocha to raise money for organizations fighting for every vote to count. This year, money raised will go to Vote Riders and The Southern Coalition for Social Justice. There are all kinds of items to bid on, from annotated books by your favorite authors to stunning crafts to writing consultations with experts. Bidding is open from July 1st to July 5th.

The Queer Books I Read in June

Every month, I do a recap of my reading for All Access members, which can be a little more revealing than I’d like. There’s no hiding my current hyperfixation while going over my reading list. Here are the seven queer books I read in June , plus some of the options on my July TBR.

What are you reading? Let us know in the comments !