NASA
Scientists’ observations from the James Webb Space Telescope are going viral after they discovered that an exoplanet 12 lightyears away has an atmosphere that smells like urine.
Yep, you read that correctly: 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.
NASAEpsilon Indi Ab is a massive gas planet 12 lightyears away from Earth.
‘Piss planet’s’ pungent atmosphere goes viral
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 pee. (Imagine stepping outside and getting hit in the face with the signature stench of a full litter box — yikes!)
While there is still a good amount of ammonia present, a comparison between the two planets showed “somewhat less ammonia than expected.”
That hasn’t stopped the internet from latching onto this factoid and running with it, though, with users already having nicknamed Epsilon Indi Ab the ‘Piss Planet’ on social media.
PISS PLANET FOUND
JWST discovered Epsilon Indi Ab — a Jupiter-sized beast 7.6x Jupiter’s mass with an ammonia-rich atmosphere that literally smells like piss. pic.twitter.com/pw5yDAc43l
— ISSPissTracker (@ISSPissTracker) May 5, 2026
“It’s a great problem to have, and it speaks to the immense progress we’re making thanks to JWST,” astronomer James Mang said. “What once seemed impossible to detect is now within reach, allowing us to probe the structure of these atmospheres, including the presence of clouds.
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“This reveals new layers of complexity that our models are now beginning to capture, and opens the door to even more detailed characterization of these cold, distant worlds.”
Epsilon Indi Ab is a gas giant-type exoplanet that orbits a K-type star – that is, a smaller, cooler, and longer-lasting than G-type stars like our own. It is considered a ‘super-Jupiter,’ as its mass is several times more than that of our solar system’s planet, but has a similar composition to the gas giant.
This is the latest hilarious space-related discovery to go viral after scientists warned the Artemis II crew that their farts could be genuinely dangerous in the Orion spacecraft.
