NASA’s Hubble spacecraft discovers evidence of a WEATHER system on nearby exoplanet ‘Hot Jupiter’ – despite sweltering surface temperatures of 2,192 ° F
- Researchers examined images of WASP-31b taken with the Hubble telescope
- WASP-31b is an extremely hot “swollen planet” 1,305 light-years from Earth
- It’s neatly locked, with one side to the star and the other to space
- Temperatures can reach as high as 2192F in the zone between day and night
- This is where researchers say the chemical chromium hydride could transform between liquid and gas and produce strong wind from day to night side
NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has spotted possible signs of a weather system on a blisteringly hot Jupiter-size exoplanet, with surface temperatures of 2192F.
Researchers from SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research and the University of Groningen examined images of WASP-31b made by the famous telescope.
WASP-31b is neatly locked, with one side always facing its host, sun-sized star – in the ‘twilight zone’ between the two zones, temperatures reach 2192 degrees F.
The experts found evidence of chromium hydride in this zone – at temperatures and pressure levels that could allow it to transform between liquid and gas – creating a weather system when it rains on the night side and as a gas on the day side.
This is an important discovery, the team says, given that a weather system is an important feature that astronomers look for in finding a planet fit for life – and finding a planet in such an inhospitable world would make the process easier. can make for ‘kinder planets’.
NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has found evidence of a weather system on a ‘hot Jupiter’ exoplanet – suggesting the world could have conditions suitable for life
In the ‘twilight zone’ – the area between the star and space sides – temperatures can reach 2100 degrees Celsius
WASP-31b is a “swollen world” about 1.5 times the size of Jupiter but about half its mass – orbiting its host dwarf star every 3.4 days.
‘Hot Jupiters, including WASP-31b, always have the same side to their guest star’, says co-author and SRON Exoplanets program leader Michiel Min.
‘We therefore expect a day side with gaseous chromium hydride and a night side with liquid chromium hydride.
‘According to theoretical models, the large temperature difference causes strong winds. We want to confirm this with observations. ‘
Exoplanets are currently too far away to reach human-built probes, but telescopes and Earth-based equipment can provide a glimpse into their atmosphere.
They can use fingerprints in the atmosphere – including signs of certain chemicals and temperatures at which they are found – to determine things like weather systems.
These fingerprints allow astronomers to deduce which substances are in an exoplanet’s atmosphere – and they once use them to find evidence of extraterrestrial life.
One sign that life could exist is finding evidence of a weather system on a planet, Dutch researchers said.
While the ‘swollen’ 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 on alien and unusual worlds.
WASP-31b is an ‘intense planet’ 1,305 light-years from Earth – planet is tidal locked, with one end always facing the star and the other facing space
Researchers from SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research and the University of Groningen examined images of WASP-31b made by the famous telescope
Finding chromium hydride on the boundary between liquid and gas is reminiscent of clouds and rain – at least in the case of water on Earth.
First author Marrick Braam and colleagues found evidence of chromium (CrH) in the atmosphere of exoplanet WASP-31b in Hubble data.
This is the first time it has been found on a hot Jupiter planet and at the right pressure and temperature to function as a weather system.
“We must add that we only found chromium hydride using the Hubble Space Telescope,” said Braam, adding that they did not see it in ground-based telescopes, including the European Southern Observatory Very Large Telescope in Chile.
They won’t be able to confirm whether the chrome is really evidence 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 whether and how a weather system would work.
Co-author Floris van der Tak: ‘With JWST we are looking for chromium hydride on ten planets with different temperatures, to better understand how the weather systems on those planets depend on the temperature.’
The findings are published in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics.
Scientists are studying the atmosphere of distant exoplanets with the help of enormous space satellites such as Hubble
Distant stars and their orbiting planets often have conditions unlike anything we see in our atmosphere.
To understand this new world, and what it is made of, scientists must be able to detect what their atmospheres are made of.
They often do this by using a telescope similar to Nasa’s Hubble telescope.
These massive satellites scan the sky and target exoplanets that NASA thinks may be of interest.
Here, the sensors on board perform various forms of analysis.
One of the most important and useful is absorption spectroscopy.
This form of analysis measures the light that comes from a planet’s atmosphere.
Each gas absorbs light of a slightly different wavelength, and when this happens, a black line appears on a full spectrum.
These lines correspond to a very specific molecule, indicating that it is present on the planet.
They are often referred to as Fraunhofer lines, after the German astronomer and physicist who first discovered them in 1814.
By combining all the different wavelengths of light, scientists can determine all of the chemicals that make up a planet’s atmosphere.
The key is that what is missing provides the clues to find out what is there.
It is vital that this is done by space telescopes, as the Earth’s atmosphere then interferes.
Absorption by chemicals in our atmosphere would skew the sample, so it is important to study the light before it has a chance to reach Earth.
This is often used to search for helium, sodium, and even oxygen in alien atmospheres.
This diagram shows how light passing from a star through an exoplanet’s atmosphere produces Fraunhofer lines that indicate the presence of important compounds such as sodium or helium.