Michelle Starr
Astronomers recently studied the atmosphere of one of the most intense extraterrestrials ever discovered. Although not fully habitable, Exoplanet WASP-189b was the first planet that scientists were able to explore for different layers of the atmosphere, each with its own unique chemical composition and properties.
“In the past, astronomers often thought and tried to understand that the atmospheres of exoplanets were in the same layer,” says Jens Hoezmackers, an astronomer at the University of Lund in Sweden. This reveals that it has complex three-dimensional structures.
A hot Thursday
WASP-189b is one of the most intriguing subgroups of extraterrestrials known as ‘Hot Jupiters’. These extreme worlds are gas giants like Jupiter; But in orbit incredibly close to their host star, they complete their orbit within 10 days. Naturally, their temperature is very high.
However, we do not know why they are like that. According to the planetary formation models we have, a gas giant cannot form very close to its star; This is because gravity, radiation, and intense stellar wind prevent gas from condensing; However, more than 300 of the approximately 5,000 exoplanets confirmed so far may be hotter Jupiters. Learning more about worlds like this hell will reveal more about the dynamics of planetary systems.
Approximately 322 light-years from us, WASP-189b represents a very serious (if not very serious) one. It is 1.6 times larger than Jupiter and orbits its star in a 2.7 day cycle. He is a young and hot star; This means that the surface temperature of WASP-189b has reached 3,200 degrees Celsius during the day, making the planet warmer than some stars.
It is also one of the brightest known orbiting asteroids between us and its star. This feature makes it very attractive for atmospheric studies.
The atmosphere has different layers
“We measure the amount of light coming from the host star and filter it into the planet’s atmosphere,” says Bibiana Prinod, an astronomer at Lund University who led the research. Of ESO [Avrupa Güney Yarımküre Astronomi Araştırmaları Örgütü] Harps at the La Silla Lab [Yüksek Doğruluklu Radyal Hız Gezegen Arayıcısı] We were able to find objects related to the atmosphere
As is common on hot Thursdays, these gases contained heavy metal vapors. Clouds of gaseous iron, titanium, chromium, magnesium, vanadium and manganese penetrated the atmosphere of WASP-189b.
Interestingly, researchers say they have found traces of titanium oxide in the atmosphere outside our own planet that have never been definitively detected. Titanium oxide is rarely found in the natural environment of the earth; But its presence in WASP-189b helps shape the atmosphere.
“Titanium oxide absorbs short-wavelength radiation like ultraviolet radiation,” says Kevin Heng, an astronomer at the University of Bern. That fact must be taken into account. “
There was another big clue that the research team was also looking at the layers in the atmosphere of the Exoplanet. Spectrum of elements in space [tayf biçiminde] Diagnosed; That is, we distort the light detected by our scanning devices into the full spectrum and look for bright or dark lines in the light spectrum. These are what we call ’emission’ or ‘absorption lines’ which refers to the amplification or absorption of wavelengths.
Has a moving atmosphere
Then we can rediscover the suction lines for some of the elements we know that absorb those wavelengths. In contrast, the absorption lines emitted by WASP-189b were not where the researchers expected.
“We think strong winds and other processes can create these changes,” says Prinod. “The fingerprints on the earth’s vapor and ozone look different from a distance because the fingerprints leaving different gases are changed in different ways. We think it shows that they are in layers; because they usually occur in different atmospheric layers.”
Looks like it won’t be possible to go to WASP-189b in the future. Even so, by the time we get there, the life we know will be completely ruined; However, research is still associated with the search for life in space. This research represents a new milestone in the study of exoplanet atmospheres, where we can often detect traces of extraterrestrials. “I am often asked if my research is related to the search for life that can be found anywhere else in the universe,” says Prinod. My answer is always ‘yes’. Research like this is the first step in that search.
The study was published in the journal Nature Astronomy.
Original article Scientific warning Taken from the website. (Translated by Thargan Dufan)