With the help of the ultra-powerful James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers were able to observe a dust storm from outside the earth's solar system for the first time.
Dust Storm on a Distant Exoplanet
The JWST's official site relayed a press release that reveals the distant dust storm that the ultra-powerful telescope picked up. The dust storm reportedly happened on the exoplanet VHS 12556 b, which is a huge brown dwarf planet that is situated around 40 light years away from earth.
Futurism reports that the Webb telescope did not just observe this distant dust storm but that it was also able to determine its atmospheric composition. The report indicates that it comprises particles of silicate that range from tiny specks to small grains.
The BBC also notes that there could be several layers of silicate grains. The visible ones could be extremely fine ones that are situated in the higher parts of the atmosphere. However, there could also be bigger ones in the depths of the atmosphere.
The astronomers project that the swirling silicate becomes too heavy at times and ends up raining down on the atmosphere of the exoplanet.
Sand…coarse, rough, gets everywhere. We may have found it on VHS 1256 b, a Tatooine-like world orbiting twin suns. Among other molecules, Webb detected silicate dust grains in its atmosphere. The larger grains may be like very hot, small sand particles: https://t.co/cl0jPDVYST pic.twitter.com/nwgMPpXFH4
— NASA Webb Telescope (@NASAWebb) March 22, 2023
Exoplanet VHS 1256 b
As per the BBC, the exoplanet was first found in 2015 with the help of the Vista telescope in Chile. It is also dubbed "super Jupiter," as its atmosphere is similar to but way bigger than Jupiter's. In fact, the exoplanet's mass is equivalent to 12-18 times the mass of Jupiter.
The exoplanet circles a few stars from a remarkable distance. This distance measures to around four times the gap between Pluto and the sun.
Prior observations of the exoplanet revealed that it looked red. These findings hint that the planet's atmosphere could be filled with dust, which is something confirmed by the Webb study.
The observations of the Webb telescope also reveal clear marks of methane, carbon monoxide, and water. It also offers proof for carbon dioxide. The atmospheric methane and carbon monoxide indicate how turbulent and hot the exoplanet is.
Ultra-Powerful James Webb Space Telescope
Other telescopes were able to gather data about the exoplanet, but this is the first time a single telescope has collected this amount of data at a single time.
The Webb telescope used its Miri (Mid-Infrared Instrument) and NirSpec (Near-Infrared Spectrometer) to make the mind-boggling discovery.
Andrew Skemer, who is from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and who is a co-author of the incoming paper about the discovery, mentions that no other telescope was able to successfully identify various features of a single target at once. With the Webb telescope, they were able to spot several molecules within one spectrum at once. It details the exoplanet's dynamic weather and cloud systems.
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