WASP-121b, a gigantic gas giant circling a star around 855 light-years from Earth, may feature metal clouds and liquid gem showers, according to a new study.
By analyzing WASP-121b's altitude-based temperatures and present water levels, an MIT-led study has offered the first precise glimpse at a "hot Jupiter" exoplanet's dark side.
The disparities from the bright side could not be starker because the faraway planet (850 light-years away) is tidally locked to its host star.
In a study published in the journal Nature Astronomy, titled "Diurnal Variations in the Stratosphere of the Ultrahot Giant Exoplanet Wasp-121B," researchers explained how water atmospherically cycles between the planet's two sides.
About WASP-121b
The planet, which researchers initially identified in 2015, is an ultrahot Jupiter-like planet since it is hotter and has a larger mass and diameter than our solar system's biggest planet.
Since then, scientists have discovered more information on WASP-121b, demonstrating that the more they understand it, the weirder it becomes.
Due to the enormous gravitational attraction of the star it circles, the exoplanet has a blazing water vapor atmosphere and is distorted into a football shape.
WASP-121b completes one orbit every 30 hours and is tidally bound to Earth, much like the moon. That implies the star is always visible from one side of the planet, the dayside. On the opposite side, there is always a night that confronts space.
Tansu Daylan, a postdoc with NASA's MIT-led mission, TESS Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite program, who co-authored the study, said per Cosmos: "Hot Jupiters are famous for having very bright day sides, but the night side is a different beast."
Using the Hubble Space Telescope, scientists have analyzed both sides of the planet to comprehend its atmosphere and alien weather better.
Weather on Wasp-121B Exoplanet Includes Metal Clouds and Rain Made of Precious Gems
WASP-121b, it turns out, is home to iron clouds, gemstone rain, and powerful winds that surpass those found on Earth.
This dark side of the planet contributes to a highly violent water cycle, Engadget (via Yahoo! Life) reported.
Whereas the daylight side of the planet rips water apart with temperatures exceeding 4,940 degrees Fahrenheit, the nighttime side is chilly enough (at most 2,780 degrees Fahrenheit) to recombine them into water.
As a result, water atoms are hurled about the Earth at speeds of almost 11,000 miles per hour. Clouds of iron and corundum (a material found in rubies and sapphires) may form on the dark side, while rain consisting of liquid jewels and titanium may fall when vapor from the dayside cools.
For two orbits in 2018 and 2019, the researchers used spectroscopy from the Hubble Space Telescope to collect data.
Many scientists have used this approach to investigate exoplanets' bright sides, but dark side investigations necessitated detecting minute variations in the spectral line suggesting water vapor.
The scientists used that line to construct temperature maps, which they then ran through algorithms to identify possible compounds.
According to MIT, this is the first extensive investigation of an exoplanet's global atmosphere. That in-depth examination should provide light on how hot Jupiters like WASP-121b develop.
While a jovian world like this is too harmful for humans, more in-depth studies of exoplanet atmospheres may aid in the search for livable planets.
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