Scientists have made a completely unexpected discovery in the atmospheres of two exoplanets using the Very Large Telescope (VLT) at the European Southern Observatory ESO. There they found the element barium at high altitudes, which is more than twice as heavy as iron. The researchers are still puzzling over what the highly exotic atmosphere of the ultra-hot gas giants WASP-76b and WASP-121b might look like.
The celestial bodies WASP-76b and WASP-121b are no ordinary exoplanets. Both are so-called gas giants, also called ultra-hot Jupiters because they are similar in size to the planet Jupiter and at the same time have a high surface temperature of more than 1000 degrees Celsius. The reason for this is the small distance from their central stars, which also means that it takes only one to two days to orbit around the star in question.
Researchers don’t yet understand the mechanism
The discovery of barium in the atmospheres of the two exoplanets is unusual because the very high gravitational pull of the massive gas giants actually makes it likely that the heavy element will fall quickly into the lower layers. What natural process could lead to the occurrence of barium in WASP-76b and WASP-121b at such high altitudes is currently unclear. “At the moment we are not clear about the mechanisms,” said the scientist involved in the study, Olivier Demangeon, on the ESO website.
It’s probably raining iron on WASP-76b
The fact that barium has been detected in the atmospheres of these two ultra-hot Jupiters suggests that this category of planets may be even stranger than previously thought. According to the astronomers, the extreme conditions lead to rather exotic properties of these exoplanets. In the case of WASP-76b (pictured above), for example, the ESO researchers suspect that iron rains there.
According to ESO, the discovery of barium was an accidental discovery during the analysis of an international team of researchers using the VLT in Chile’s Atacama Desert. The experts analyzed the starlight that is “filtered” through the atmospheres of the two exoplanets. From this, conclusions can be drawn about their composition.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
