Monday, October 7, 2024

“This planet is strangely powerful.” As large as Jupiter but much lighter: there is a misalignment between its poles – Image – CUENEWS

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A mysterious exoplanet with an asymmetric atmosphere reveals surprising properties.

the Exoplanets, or planets outside the solar systemThey are celestial bodies that revolve around the stars Different from the sun. These planets can vary greatly in size, composition, and distance from their star.

Exoplanet research has been revolutionized with the advent of… Space telescopes like Kepler and James Webb. These advanced instruments can detect changes in a star’s brightness when a planet passes in front of it, allowing astronomers to determine its size, mass and other atmospheric properties.

Exoplanets can be classified into different categories, such as: Jovians, Earthlings and Neptuniansdepending on their physical properties. Some have been found in the “habitable zone,” the region around a star where conditions may be right for liquid water, an essential ingredient for life as we know it.

The discovery of exoplanets has also sparked discussions about the possibility of their existence Extraterrestrial life. While some of these planets are completely inhospitable, others offer conditions that could support life, making them the subject of intense scientific research and speculation.

Innovative observations using the James Webb Telescope

A group of researchers fromUniversity of Arizona She recently made use of a space telescope James Webb To study an unusual exoplanet, WASP-107B. This planet is similar in size to Jupiter, but its mass is surprisingly less, about one-tenth the mass of the gas giant. Research published on Nature astronomyIt highlighted an interesting asymmetry in the planet’s atmosphere, highlighting significant differences between the eastern and western regions.

During the observation, the telescope took a series of images as Wasp-107b passed in front of its star, recording detailed information about its star. Atmosphere. This process allowed researchers to analyze signals coming from both sides of the atmosphere separately, thus obtaining more accurate data about the phenomena occurring on this unique exoplanet.

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Illustration of the exoplanet WASP-107b (Image by Rachel Amaro from the University of Arizona) – www.aerospacecue.it

An atypical planet and its ongoing study

Wasp-107b is distinguished not only by its characteristics Low density But also for Relatively low gravityfactors that contribute significantly Atmospheric swelling. With temperatures exceeding 470 degrees Celsius, the planet lies in a thermal range intermediate between that of our solar system’s planets and the most extreme exoplanets known. This peculiarity makes it a fascinating subject of study for astronomers.

The research team is currently analyzing the collected data to delve deeper into the causes of the observed asymmetry in the atmosphere. These studies promise to reveal new information about the formation and evolution of exoplanets, contributing significantly to our understanding of the universe.

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