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Science
Related: About this forumHubble spots a football-shaped planet leaking heavy metals into space
Hubble spots a football-shaped planet leaking heavy metals into space
The planet has an upper atmosphere some 10 times hotter than any other world yet measured, which astronomers think is causing heavy metals to stream away from the planet.
By Korey Haynes | Published: Thursday, August 01, 2019
WASP-121b is so hot that the planet has puffed up beyond its ability to hold onto its own atmosphere, and is instead streaming it away as it flies around its star every 30 hours.
NASA/ESA/J. Olmsted/STScI
Astronomers just used NASAs Hubble Space Telescope to take the temperature of an exoplanet called WASP-121b and discovered that the world is so hot that heavy metals actually leak behind it as it whips about its central star. Its the first time scientists have seen such a phenomenon.
Since the beginning of the exoplanet era, when astronomers began finding planets outside our solar system, these so-called hot Jupiters have demanded attention. Theyre as big or bigger than our planet Jupiter, made of mostly gassy hydrogen and helium, and orbit shockingly close to their stars. These monster planets can take mere hours or days to orbit. And as a result of their clinginess, they can be heated to thousands of degrees.
But WASP-121b is extreme even for its class. The planet has an upper atmosphere some 10 times hotter than any other world yet measured. Astronomers think that intense heat is whats causing the metals, in addition to lighter materials, to puff up and stream away from the planet.
Heavy metals have been seen in other hot Jupiters before, but only in the lower atmosphere, David Sing of the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, said in a press release. Hes the lead author on the paper published August 1 in the Astronomical Journal. So you dont know if they are escaping or not. With WASP-121b, we see magnesium and iron gas so far away from the planet that theyre not gravitationally bound.
[...]
The planet has an upper atmosphere some 10 times hotter than any other world yet measured, which astronomers think is causing heavy metals to stream away from the planet.
By Korey Haynes | Published: Thursday, August 01, 2019
WASP-121b is so hot that the planet has puffed up beyond its ability to hold onto its own atmosphere, and is instead streaming it away as it flies around its star every 30 hours.
NASA/ESA/J. Olmsted/STScI
Astronomers just used NASAs Hubble Space Telescope to take the temperature of an exoplanet called WASP-121b and discovered that the world is so hot that heavy metals actually leak behind it as it whips about its central star. Its the first time scientists have seen such a phenomenon.
Since the beginning of the exoplanet era, when astronomers began finding planets outside our solar system, these so-called hot Jupiters have demanded attention. Theyre as big or bigger than our planet Jupiter, made of mostly gassy hydrogen and helium, and orbit shockingly close to their stars. These monster planets can take mere hours or days to orbit. And as a result of their clinginess, they can be heated to thousands of degrees.
But WASP-121b is extreme even for its class. The planet has an upper atmosphere some 10 times hotter than any other world yet measured. Astronomers think that intense heat is whats causing the metals, in addition to lighter materials, to puff up and stream away from the planet.
Heavy metals have been seen in other hot Jupiters before, but only in the lower atmosphere, David Sing of the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, said in a press release. Hes the lead author on the paper published August 1 in the Astronomical Journal. So you dont know if they are escaping or not. With WASP-121b, we see magnesium and iron gas so far away from the planet that theyre not gravitationally bound.
[...]
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Hubble spots a football-shaped planet leaking heavy metals into space (Original Post)
sl8
Aug 2019
OP
So, the metals harden as they cool off and leave a debris trail behind the planet?
Baitball Blogger
Aug 2019
#2
Sancho
(9,067 posts)1. Suggested name: Planet Brady?
Baitball Blogger
(46,702 posts)2. So, the metals harden as they cool off and leave a debris trail behind the planet?
Igel
(35,300 posts)3. Probably atomic or groups of a few atoms. n/t