A new study of the atmosphere of the exoplanet WASP-121 b, also known as “hot Jupiter”, has shown that it contains clouds of metals and may also rain sapphires in the liquid state.
Exoplanet WASP-121 b is a gas giant located at a distance of 880 light years from Earth, which was discovered in 2015. It shares a number of similarities with Jupiter, but is much closer to its star and therefore much hotter.
Unique features of a mysterious exoplanet
In a new study, scientists using the Hubble Space Telescope for the first time conducted a detailed analysis of the atmosphere on the cooler side of an exoplanet. It turned out that it has a number of unique qualities, including metallic clouds and liquid gem rain.
WASP-121 b is tidally locked, meaning that one side of it always faces the star. On this side of the planet metals and minerals evaporate. According to research, the upper layers of the atmosphere on the day side of WASP-121 b can heat up to 3000 degrees Celsius. Due to this, the water in the atmosphere glows, and the molecules are destroyed.
Metallic clouds
Researchers found out that on the night side of the planet the temperature drops by half. This difference in temperature causes strong winds to blow from west to east around the planet, trapping water from the day side to the night side. As water molecules break up into hydrogen and oxygen atoms under the influence of heat on the day side, the relatively cool temperatures on the night side recombine the atoms into water vapor.
This water is carried by the winds back to the day side, where it breaks up into atoms again. The temperature on the night side is never low enough for water clouds to form. Instead, metallic clouds are formed.
Previous Hubble data showed signs of metals such as iron, magnesium, chromium and vanadium in the form of gases on the planet’s day side. According to recent data, the night side of WASP-121 b gets cold enough for these metals to condense into clouds. As with water vapor, strong winds carry these clouds to the day side of the planet, where they evaporate.
Rain of sapphires
Metallic clouds are not the only strange phenomenon that researchers have noticed on Jupiter’s hot twin. They also found evidence of possible rain in the form of liquid gems.
Scientists were surprised that there was neither aluminum nor titanium among the metals they found in the planet’s atmosphere. They believe that this will be explained by the fact that metals condense and fall into the lower levels of the planet’s atmosphere beyond observation.
This metallic vapor condensing into metallic rain would cause the aluminum to condense with the oxygen to form corundum. According to scientists, this is a metal compound that, when contaminated with other metals found in the planet’s atmosphere, forms rubies or sapphires.
It is very interesting to study planets like WASP-121 b, which are very different from the planets in our solar system, because they allow us to see how the atmosphere behaves in extreme conditions,
– said Joanna Barstow, a researcher from the Open University in Great Britain.
