Hubble detects changes in atmosphere of exoplanet
Using data from collected in 2016, 2018, and 2019 combined with computer simulations, scientists now believe they have detected changes in the atmosphere of the exoplanet WASP-121b, also nicknamed Tylos.
The Jupiter-sized planet orbits a star about 880 light years away.
WASP-121 b is so close to its parent star that the orbital period is only 1.27 days. This close proximity means that the planet is tidally locked so that the same hemisphere always faces the star, in the same way that our Moon always has the same side pointed at Earth. Daytime temperatures approach 3,450 degrees Fahrenheit (2,150 degrees Kelvin) on the star-facing side of the planet.
The team used four sets of Hubble archival observations of WASP-121 b. The complete data-set included observations of WASP-121 b transiting in front of its star (taken in June 2016); WASP-121 b passing behind its star, also known as a secondary eclipse (taken in November 2016); and the brightness of WASP-121 b as a function of its phase angle to the star (the varying amount of light received at Earth from an exoplanet as it orbits its parent star, similar to our Moon’s phase-cycle). These data were taken in March 2018 and February 2019, respectively.
A computer model was then used to fill in the gaps and provide a simulation of the hot temperatures of that exoplanet’s atmosphere over time. Two videos of that simulation are available at the link.
There of course is a lot of uncertainty in this result, though the fundamental discovery of changes is important. This data proves there is weather on such alien planets, even if that weather is so alien we really don’t understand it in the slightest based on the available data on hand.
Using data from collected in 2016, 2018, and 2019 combined with computer simulations, scientists now believe they have detected changes in the atmosphere of the exoplanet WASP-121b, also nicknamed Tylos.
The Jupiter-sized planet orbits a star about 880 light years away.
WASP-121 b is so close to its parent star that the orbital period is only 1.27 days. This close proximity means that the planet is tidally locked so that the same hemisphere always faces the star, in the same way that our Moon always has the same side pointed at Earth. Daytime temperatures approach 3,450 degrees Fahrenheit (2,150 degrees Kelvin) on the star-facing side of the planet.
The team used four sets of Hubble archival observations of WASP-121 b. The complete data-set included observations of WASP-121 b transiting in front of its star (taken in June 2016); WASP-121 b passing behind its star, also known as a secondary eclipse (taken in November 2016); and the brightness of WASP-121 b as a function of its phase angle to the star (the varying amount of light received at Earth from an exoplanet as it orbits its parent star, similar to our Moon’s phase-cycle). These data were taken in March 2018 and February 2019, respectively.
A computer model was then used to fill in the gaps and provide a simulation of the hot temperatures of that exoplanet’s atmosphere over time. Two videos of that simulation are available at the link.
There of course is a lot of uncertainty in this result, though the fundamental discovery of changes is important. This data proves there is weather on such alien planets, even if that weather is so alien we really don’t understand it in the slightest based on the available data on hand.