NASA’s Hubble spacecraft discovers evidence of an exGIC METEOROL system on the nearby “hot Jupiter” exoplanet, despite surface temperatures of 2,192 ° F
- The researchers examined WASP-31b images taken by the Hubble Telescope
- WASP-31b is an extremely hot “inflated planet” 1,305 light-years away from Earth
- It is closed in order, with one side towards the star and the other towards space
- Temperatures can reach up to 2,192F in the area between day and night
- This is where researchers say the chemical chromium hydride could transform between liquids and gases and produce strong winds from day to night.
NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has detected possible signs of a weather system on an exoplanet the size of Jupiter, with a surface temperature of 2,192F.
Researchers from the SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research and the University of Groningen examined WASP-31b images taken by the famous telescope.
The WASP-31b is locked in an orderly fashion, with one side always oriented to its host star the size of the Sun, in the “twilight zone” between the two zones the temperature reaches 2,192 degrees F.
Experts found evidence of chromium hydride in this area, at temperatures and pressure levels that could allow it to be transformed between liquid and gas, forming a weather system as it rains at night and as a gas during the day.
This is an important discovery, according to the team, as a weather system is a key feature that astronomers look for when finding a planet suitable for life, and finding one in such an inhospitable world. could facilitate the process for the “kindest planets.”
NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has detected evidence of a weather system on a “hot Jupiter” exoplanet, suggesting that the world may have suitable conditions for life
In the “twilight zone” (the area between the star and the space side), temperatures can reach 2,100 degrees F (2,192 degrees Fahrenheit).
WASP-31b is an “inflated world” that is about 1.5 times the size of Jupiter, but with about half its mass; it orbits its dwarf star every 3.4 days.
“Hot Jupiters, including WASP-31b, always have the same face in front of their host star,” says SRICH Exoplanets co-author and program leader Michiel Min.
Therefore, we expect a day side with chromium hydride in gaseous form and a night side with liquid chromium hydride.
According to theoretical models, the large temperature difference creates strong winds. We want to confirm that with comments. ”
Currently, exoplanets are too far away for man-made probes to reach, but Earth-based telescopes and equipment can provide insight into their atmosphere.
They can use fingerprints in the atmosphere, including the signs of certain chemicals and temperatures they are in, to determine things like weather systems.
These fingerprints allow astronomers to deduce what substances are in the atmosphere of an exoplanet, and one day use them to find evidence of alien life.
According to Dutch researchers, one of the signs that could exist is the search for evidence of a weather system on a planet.
While the “inflated” WASP-31b is probably too hot for life to evolve, finding evidence of a weather system in the atmosphere helps astronomers learn more about how possible weather systems could form in strange and unusual worlds. .
WASP-31b is an “intense planet” 1,305 light-years from Earth; the planet is closed in order, with one side always oriented to the star and the other to space
Researchers at the SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research and the University of Groningen examined images of WASP-31b made by the famous telescope
Finding chromium hydride at the boundary between liquid and gas is reminiscent of clouds and rain, at least in the case of Earth’s water.
First author Marrick Braam and colleagues found evidence in Hubble data on chromium (CrH) in the atmosphere of the exoplanet WASP-31b.
This is the first time it is on a hot planet of Jupiter and with the right pressure and temperature for it to function as a weather system.
“We have to add that we only found chromium hydride with the Hubble Space Telescope,” Braam said, adding that they did not see it in ground-based telescopes, including the Southern European Very Large Telescope Observatory in Chile.
They won’t be able to confirm whether chromium is really a test of a weather system on the planet until Hubble’s successor, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), launches later this year.
The Dutch team hopes to use it to investigate WASP-31b and other hot Jupiter-type planets, to confirm if and how a weather system would work.
Co-author Floris van der Tak says, “With JWST we look for chromium hydride on ten planets with different temperatures, to better understand how the weather systems on these planets depend on temperature.”
The findings have been published in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics.
Scientists study the atmosphere of distant exoplanets using huge space satellites like Hubble
Distant stars and their orbiting planets often have different conditions from everything we see in our atmosphere.
To understand this new world and what they are made of, scientists must be able to detect what their atmospheres consist of.
They often do so using a telescope similar to NASA’s Hubble Telescope.
These huge satellites explore the sky and look at exoplanets that NASA believes may be of interest.
Here, the sensors on board perform different forms of analysis.
One of the most important and useful is called absorption spectroscopy.
This form of analysis measures the light that comes out of a planet’s atmosphere.
All gases absorb a slightly different wavelength, and when this happens, a black line appears in a full spectrum.
These lines correspond to a very specific molecule, which indicates their presence on the planet.
Fraunhofer lines are often named after the German astronomer and physicist who discovered them in 1814.
By combining all the different wavelengths of lights, scientists can determine all the chemicals that make up a planet’s atmosphere.
The key is that what is missing, provides clues to find out what is present.
It is vitally important that this is done using space telescopes, as the Earth’s atmosphere would interfere.
The absorption of chemicals into our atmosphere would skew the sample, which is why it is important to study light before it has had a chance to reach Earth.
It is often used to search for helium, sodium and even oxygen in alien atmospheres.
This diagram shows how light passing through a star and through the atmosphere of an exoplanet produces Fraunhofer lines that indicate the presence of key compounds such as sodium or helium.