An artist's concept of the exoplanet WASP-18b. Credit: NASA/GSFC Astronomers have produced the first three-dimensional map of a planet outside our solar system, revealing distinct temperature regions, including one so hot that water vapor breaks apart. The findings appear in Nature Astronomy , published October 28, 2025. Led by researchers at the University of Maryland and Cornell University, the study charts temperatures across WASP-18b, a massive gas giant classified as an "ultra-hot Jupiter"