Exoplanet WASP-76 b is well known to scientists as a hot Jupiter with a temperature on the illuminated side of 2400°C. In a new study, scientists have found that iron winds are blowing in its extreme atmosphere.
Amazing WASP-76 b
The exoplanet WASP-76 b can rightfully be called a famous extreme world. Since it was discovered in 2013, scientists have done quite a bit of research and discovered some amazing things. And now its wonders have been supplemented by iron winds.
WASP-76 b is 391 light-years away in the direction of the constellation Pisces. It is a gas giant almost twice the size of Jupiter. Its main feature is that it orbits its star, a little hotter than the Sun, so close that its surface heats up to an incredible 2400°C.
And it’s a transiting world. WASP-76 b regularly passes between us and its star. Scientists can capture the light passing through its atmosphere and decompose it into a spectrum. In this way, they have learned a lot about its chemical composition.
Scientists already know that rainfall of molten iron is quite common over the shadow side of the planet, and the atmosphere is high in barium. They now know that the gas giant has streams of iron atoms traveling from the lower layers of its atmosphere to the upper layers. We can speak of them with full confidence as a metal wind.
How the study was conducted
The scientists were greatly aided in the new study by the ESPRESSO instrument, a spectrograph mounted on the Very Large Telescope in Chile. In addition to being one of the most powerful instruments on Earth, the main instrument is also incredibly accurate.
This was the key to the detection of the iron wind in the atmosphere of WASP-76 b. In other words, scientists have been able to learn that there are not just iron particles freely traveling in the atmosphere, but they have figured out exactly how this happens.
Now they want to map the winds of the planet. In this way, it will be possible to get a complete picture of what is happening in this wonderful world where iron behaves like gas and liquid.
According to phys.org
