Mysterious 'puffy' planet may finally be explained by James Webb Space Telescope (2024)
Sharmila Kuthunur
·4 min read
A surprisingly low reservoir of methane may explain how a planet around a nearby star grew weirdly puffy, according to new observations from theJames Webb Space Telescope(JWST). The finding shows that planetary atmospheres can inflate to remarkable amounts without employing esoteric theories of planet formation, astronomers say.
"The Webb data tells us that planets like WASP-107 b didn't have to form in some odd way with a super small core and a huge gassy envelope,"Michael Line, an extrasolar planetologist at Arizona State University, said in astatement. "Instead, we can take something more likeNeptune, with a lot of rock and not as much gas, just dial up the temperature, and poof it up to look the way it does."
Discovered in 2017 by the Wide Angle Search for Planets (WASP) consortium, WASP-107 b, located roughly 200light-yearsfromEarthin theconstellation Virgo, is among the lightest of the more than 5,000 exoplanets found thus far. Despite being nearly as large asJupiter, WASP-107 b weighs just 12%of thegas giant's mass, equivalent to only 30 Earths. For context, one Jupiter mass is equal to about318 Earth masses. This planet is so puffy, the team says, that its density can be likened to a microwaved marshmallow.
From previous observations of WASP-107 b's size, mass and age, astronomers suspected the planet had a small, rocky core enveloped by a rich reservoir of hydrogen and helium gases. However, such a scenario failed to fully explain the remarkably bloated orb, which, despite the fact it orbits its star at one-seventh the distance betweenMercuryand our sun, doesn't receive enough energy from its star to account for its cotton-like density. Alternatively, if the planet's core actually held more mass than expected, scientists say the atmosphere would have shrunk as the planet cooled overtime, meaning it would have turned out smaller than what is observed.
Now, using the JWST's data — combined with previous observations from theHubble Space Telescope— two independent teams of astronomers may have solved the puzzle. In short, they discovered that methane in the planet's atmosphere is one-thousandth of what would be expected for this world. Because methane is unstable at high temperatures, astronomers say the surprisingly low amount is evidence that the gas from deep within the planet is "mixing vigorously with cooler layers higher up,"David Singof Johns Hopkins University (JHU) in Maryland, who led one of the two new studies, said in the statement. "The fact that we detected so little, even though we did detect other carbon-bearing molecules, tells us that the interior of the planet must be significantly hotter than we thought."
The extra heat likely comes from the fact that WASP-107 b zips around its star every 5.7 days in an orbit that is not a perfect circle, the researchers say. The star's constant gravitational pull on WASP-107 b, whose distance from its star keeps varying throughout, stretches and contracts the planet’s profile, thereby heating it up. On Earth, a similar force bythe mooncauses high and low tides.
The planet's hot core combined with tidal heating from its star is also changing the chemistry of the gases deep within the planet,Zafar Rustamkulov, who is a graduate student at JHU and a co-author of one of the two new studies, said in astatementfrom the university. "We think this heat is causing the chemistry of the gases to change, specifically destroying methane and making elevated amounts of carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide."
In 2020, a team of astronomers, including Sing,detected heliumin the atmosphere of WASP-107 b, marking the discovery as the first time this gas was spotted on anexoplanet. The element, which was tentatively spotted on the world in 2018 before having its existence thereconfirmedtwo years later, was seen extending far out intospaceas a tenuous cloud. Because this planet's atmosphere so far flung, astronomers say ultraviolet radiation from WASP-107 b’s star is slowly stripping the world of its air — about 0.1% to 4% of atmospheric mass every billion years, to be more specific, which results in acomet-like tail trailing behind the orb.
Thanks to the planet’s supremely puffy nature, astronomers can look about 50 times deeper into its atmosphere than they can for a world like Jupiter. Last year, for instance, JWST observations of WASP-107 b's atmosphere showed itrains sandon the planet.
This research is described intwostudiespublished Monday (May 20) in the journal Nature.
New James Webb telescope observations may reveal how the mysterious world got so 'puffy'. A surprisingly low reservoir of methane may explain how a planet around a nearby star grew weirdly puffy, according to new observations from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).
James Webb telescope detects 1-of-a-kind atmosphere around 'Hell Planet' in distant star system. Using the James Webb Space Telescope, scientists have discovered evidence of a carbon-rich atmosphere around the hellish world 55 Cancri e.
Webb's data will also answer the compelling questions of how black holes formed and grew early on, and what influence they had on the formation and evolution of the early Universe.
JWST's planned 10-year lifetime could reveal a lot, perhaps answering fundamental questions including what exoplanets are made of, how they form and whether our solar system is an oddball within our galactic neighborhood (SN: 5/11/18).
Researchers using NASA's James Webb Space Telescope may have detected atmospheric gases surrounding 55 Cancri e, a hot rocky exoplanet 41 light-years from Earth. This is the best evidence to date for the existence of any rocky planet atmosphere outside…
The Moon is the only other place humans have visited. No other planet in our solar system currently has the conditions to support life as we know it on Earth. Even if scientists discover another habitable planet outside of our solar system, humans do not yet have the technology to visit it.
TOI-715 b is a super-Earth exoplanet in the habitable zone of its parent M-type star, TOI-715. The planet is 1.55 times larger than Earth, and is located at 0.083 astronomical units (12,400,000 km) from its star. The planet orbits in the habitable zone of its star and has an equilibrium temperature of 234 K (−39 °C).
For me, and for thousands of space scientists, the James Webb Space Telescope is a window to that unknown universe. Just how far back can JWST peer into the cosmos and into the past? About 13.5 billion years.
Webb sends science and engineering data to Earth using a high frequency radio transmitter. Large radio antennas that are part of the NASA Deep Space Network receive the signals and forward them to the Webb Science and Operation Center at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
The James Webb Space Telescope that just provided the world with the deepest-ever view of the universe has been permanently damaged by asteroid attacks.
Recent reports of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) detecting signs of life of a distant planet outside the solar system are, unfortunately, somewhat premature. That's the conclusion of research conducted by scientists from the University of California Riverside (UCR).
Webb will observe Mars and the giant planets, minor planets like Pluto and Eris - and even the small bodies in our solar system: asteroids, comets, and Kuiper Belt Objects.
Among the 2,000+ planets, the Kepler mission discovered 3 super Earth-size planets (Kepler-62f, Kepler-62e, and Kepler-62c) in the habitable zones of their stars. Each of the 3 planets is less than twice the size of Earth.
Last September, the James Webb Space Telescope, or JWST, discovered JWST-ER1g, a massive ancient galaxy that formed when the universe was just a quarter of its current age. Surprisingly, an Einstein ring is associated with this galaxy.
June 17, 2024 — Astronomers have discovered a double-record-breaking pair of quasars. Not only are they the most distant pair of merging quasars ever found, but also the only pair confirmed in the bygone era of the ...
"In January 2024, NIRSpec observed this galaxy, JADES-GS-z14-0, for almost ten hours, and when the spectrum was first processed, there was unambiguous evidence that the galaxy was indeed at a redshift of 14.32, shattering the previous most-distant galaxy record (z = 13.2 of JADES-GS-z13-0).
K2-18b, also known as EPIC 201912552 b, is an exoplanet orbiting the red dwarf K2-18, located 124 light-years (38 pc) away from Earth. The planet is a sub-Neptune about 2.6 times the radius of Earth, with a 33-day orbit within the star's habitable zone.
yet. COSMOS MAGAZINE: In 2023, an exoplanet made international headlines because James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) observations suggested that the planet has a “biosignature” – signs of gas in its atmosphere produced by “life.”
It is about 4.2 light-years (1.3 parsecs) from Earth in the constellation Centaurus, making it and Proxima d, along with the currently disputed Proxima c, the closest known exoplanets to the Solar System.
The planet, dubbed TOI 4633 c (and nicknamed Percival), was identified using data from NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). The exoplanet was spotted when it passed in front of its host star, TOI 4633 A, temporarily dimming its light like a solar eclipse.
Address: 998 Estell Village, Lake Oscarberg, SD 48713-6877
Phone: +21813267449721
Job: Technology Engineer
Hobby: Swimming, Do it yourself, Beekeeping, Lapidary, Cosplaying, Hiking, Graffiti
Introduction: My name is Reed Wilderman, I am a faithful, bright, lucky, adventurous, lively, rich, vast person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
We notice you're using an ad blocker
Without advertising income, we can't keep making this site awesome for you.
 - AMAZONA.de)