Astronomers have discovered the secret of an alien atmosphere on exoplanets far beyond the solar system, unlike anything we have seen before.
In a No. 1 in Science, an international team of astronomers painted the atmosphere of Planet Wasp-121b, also known as Tylos. They used the very large telescope of the European Southern Observatory (yes, that's actually what's called), and they identified complex weather patterns and surprising chemical composition. Their research was published Tuesday in an early, unedited edition of the journal naturepaving the way for future research on alien atmosphere.
“The behavior of the planet's atmosphere challenges our understanding of how weather works – not only on Earth, but on all planets. Julia Victoria Sey, a physicist at the European Southern Observatory (ESO) in Chile and lead author of the study Julia Victoria Seidel said in an ESO statement. It is worth mentioning that because the official definition of “planet” is still limited to celestial bodies within our solar system (some astronomers suggest changing this), Tylos technically Being an external star, but for simplicity, astronomers sometimes stick to the use of “planet”.
The external star in question is a gas giant (large planets made primarily of helium and/or hydrogen) about 900 light years from Earth. It rotates its stars in close proximity in just 30 hours – in fact, Tylos is also classified as a super hot Jupiter: a very large and hot planet with very tight orbits. The time it takes Tylos to complete an orbit is to complete a rotational gas giant simultaneously, meaning one of the sides of Tylos is permanently facing its star and is much hotter than the other (i.e. its tidal locking).
Seidel and her colleagues analyzed the exoplanet's atmosphere using all four telescope units of ESO VLT. By tracking iron, sodium, and hydrogen, they were able to study the deep, neutral and upper atmospheres of the Earth.
“VLT allows us to explore the three layers of exoplanet atmosphere in one go,” said Leonardo A. Dos Santos, an assistant astronomer at the Baltimore Space Telescope Science Institute. “This observation is associated with space telescopes, which is very challenging, highlighting the importance of exoplanets based on ground observations,” he added.
The team then created a 3D map of their observations that reveal the alien atmosphere outside the solar system in unprecedented detail.
“What we found was surprising: a jet stream rotates material around the equator of the planet, while a separate flow at lower levels of the atmosphere moves the gas from the hot side to the cool side. Never seen on any planet before This climate,” Seidel explained. Compared to the size and speed of Tylos' jet stream, “even the strongest hurricanes in the solar system seem calm,” she added.
Additionally, a peer study- published in journals earlier this week Astronomy and astrophysics Through some of the same researchers, it is possible to point out the titanium under the jet stream. Previous studies have not found this chemistry, perhaps because of its depth in the atmosphere.
“It's shocking that we can study the chemical composition and weather patterns of the Earth at such a distance,” said Bibiana Prinoth, a PhD student in astronomy and astrophysics at Lund University. “This experience makes me feel like we're on the verge of uncovering incredible things that we can only dream of right now.” Prince co-wrote nature Paper and lead the companion’s work.
Prince's excitement is very good. Future telescopes, such as ESO’s upcoming Extreme Telescope (ELT), will enable researchers to perform similar atmospheric analysis of planets similar to small Earths. Prince concluded: “ELT will be a game changer to study the atmosphere of exoplanets.”
