With the help of the powerful James Webb Space Telescope, scientists were able to find evidence of an atmosphere that is rich in carbon around the 55 Cancri e hellish world. This serves as the best evidence of an atmosphere that engulfs a rocky exoplanet.
55 Cancri E
Categorized as a super-Earth, 55 Cancri e is quite a fiery world. Its diameter is roughly twice that of Earth, while it goes around its star at just 4% of the Mercury-Sun distance. It is likely that its surface is covered with molten magma, with temperatures high enough to melt iron.
Since the exoplanet's discovery in 2004, scientists have been baffled about its existence. They have questioned its density, orbital period, and atmosphere.
At first, researchers were unsure if exoplanets were capable of supporting an atmosphere. Some thought that it was extremely hot and close to its star.
However, new evidence shows that the hellish planet is covered with a gas layer that is quite unusual.
ALSO READ : 'Hell' Exoplanet 55 Cancri Hotter Than Molten Magma Discovered To Have Alignment Matters With Its Star
Carbon-Rich Atmosphere
According to the new study "A secondary atmosphere on the rocky Exoplanet 55 Cancri e," the long-standing mystery of whether a "Hell Planet" could have an atmosphere has been solved. This enabled the researchers to pick up the best evidence of an atmosphere surrounding a rocky world beyond the Solar System.
The first clue about the possible atmosphere of the super-Earth was a weird temperature measurement. With the JWST's MIRI (mid-infrared instrument), researchers gauged the thermal emissions of the exoplanet's day site. If there was no atmosphere on the planet, the temperature of its daytime would go up to 2,200 degrees Celsius. However, this is not what MIRI was able to detect.
Renyu Hu, the study's lead author and an astronomer from NASA JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratory), says that the MIRI data revealed a relatively low temperature of 1,500 degrees Celsius. This shows that something, which could be an atmospheric current, was moving heat from the planet's day side to its night side.
The team then made use of the NIRCam (Near-infrared camera) to see the possible elements that were present in the potential atmosphere. They discovered evidence of carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide gas swirling around the molten rock surface of the planet.
However, the researchers think that this layer of gas has not been present since the planet's formation. It is likely that such an atmosphere would be violently and quickly stripped by its nearby star's solar winds.
Instead, the secondary atmosphere, which is carbon-rich, bubbles out of the planet's interior. This would enable the atmosphere to self-replenish as the gases boil away.
Diana Dragomir, a co-author of the study and exoplanetary researcher from the University of New Mexico, who has been studying the 55 Cancri e exoplanet for over a decade, was quite excited by the findings, expressing being thrilled to get answers as no observations were able to robustly solve such puzzles.
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