Astronomers discovered an exoplanet hosting bizarre clouds in its atmosphere. What they found could affect our understanding of the distant planets' chemistry.
Exoplanet WASP-107b Hosts Sandy Clouds
A team of European astronomers used observations from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to detail the atmospheric composition of a nearby "fluffy" exoplanet called WASP-107b. Researchers found water vapor, sulfur dioxide, and even silicate sand clouds in the exoplanet's dynamic atmosphere. The new study may also have implications for our understanding of the chemistry of distant planets.
The planet's low density, or fluffiness, allowed scientists to peer 50 times deeper into the planet's atmosphere. Astronomers were taken aback when a sulfur dioxide stench produced when a match is lit was first discovered. This is because the planet is smaller and colder than its host star, with a comparatively lower amount of high-energy light photons. However, because of the planet's low density, these photons can deeply enter WASP-107 b's atmosphere and initiate chemical reactions resulting in sulfur dioxide.
Astronomers saw high-altitude clouds made of fine silicate particles, or very fine-grained sand, in addition to sulfur dioxide.
Sand particles are thought to originate in a manner akin to that of water vapor and clouds on Earth, according to researchers. The droplets of sand rain condense and descend to the planet's highly heated layers, where they transform into silicate vapor and are propelled back upward, where they recondense to create more clouds.
"JWST is revolutionizing exoplanet characterisation, providing unprecedented insights at remarkable speed," said lead author Leen Decin of Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium in a press release.
"The discovery of clouds of sand, water, and sulfur dioxide on this fluffy exoplanet ... is a pivotal milestone. It reshapes our understanding of planetary formation and evolution, shedding new light on our own solar system."
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Exoplanet WASP-107b
Exoplanet WASP-107b is frequently compared to a comet and is one of the planets with the lowest known density. It is about the same size as the biggest planet in our solar system, Jupiter, but only has 12% of its mass.
It's one of the least dense exoplanets that astrophysicists dubbed "fluffy," "super-puff," or "cotton candy" planets.
The WASP-107b exoplanet is approximately 200 light years away from Earth. In just six days, it orbits its home star, which is marginally less massive and colder than our sun.
Scientists employed a method known as the radial velocity method, which enabled them to ascertain a planet's mass by observing the "wobbling motion" of its host star, which is a sign of the planet's mass interacting with the lead. Using this technique, they discovered that WASP-107 b's mass is just a tenth of Jupiter's, yet it is still 30 times more than Earth's.
When scientists looked into the planet's interior composition, they discovered something unexpected - the planet must have a solid core at least four times as massive as Earth because of its extremely low density.
The dense gaseous layer surrounding the planet's core contains more than 85% of its mass. As a point of comparison, 5 to 15 percent of Neptune's total mass-which is closer to WASP-107b-is found in the gas layer.
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