Astronomers examine atmosphere of extremely hot exoplanet 'WASP-76 b'
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International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/J. da Silva/Spaceengine/M. Zamani
In 2013, astronomers discovered an extremely hot exoplanet, WASP-76 b. Since then, its oddity and extreme conditions have caught the attention of astronomers.
For instance, WASP-76 b orbits so close to its host star that it supports temperatures well above 2000°C. And when it rains, iron is pelted on the surface. These bizarre conditions make it an incredibly strange world. And this makes it even more intriguing for scientists to understand how this odd hot exoplanet formed.
A University of Montreal team has unraveled some key details about the atmospheric elements present in WASP-76 b.
Examining the atmosphere of this extreme world
The parent massive star of WASP-76 b lies 634 light-years away in the constellation Pisces. The exoplanet is around 12 times closer to its star than Mercury is to the Sun.
The scientists studied the components found in the planet's atmosphere using the MAROON-X high-resolution optical spectrograph on the Gemini-North 8-metre Telescope in Hawai'i.
They identified the abundance of 11 chemical elements in the atmosphere. The authors emphasize that several of the chemicals discovered are rock-forming elements, which are unknown for huge planets in our Solar System (Jupiter or Saturn).
"Truly rare are the times when an exoplanet hundreds of light years away can teach us something that would otherwise likely be impossible to know about our own Solar System," said Stefan Pelletier, the lead author of this study, in a press release.
Manganese, chromium, magnesium, vanadium, barium, and calcium were discovered in the exoplanet's atmosphere. Furthermore, these components are also found in its parent star as well as our Sun.
On the other hand, some elements were found to be depleted in the exoplanet as compared to its super hot host star. “These elements that appear to be missing in WASP-76 b’s atmosphere are precisely those that require higher temperatures to vaporize, like titanium and aluminum,” said Pelletier.
At 2000°C, many elements that would ordinarily form rocks on Earth (such as magnesium and iron) vaporize and become gaseous in the upper atmosphere. The study of this unique planet provides unparalleled insight into the rock-forming elements in giant planets.
Other interesting observation
The researchers also found vanadium oxide, which is the first time this element has been discovered on an exoplanet.
“This molecule plays a similar role to ozone in Earth's atmosphere: it is extremely efficient at heating up the upper atmosphere. This causes the temperatures to increase as a function of altitude, instead of decreasing as is typically seen on colder planets,” explained Pelletier.
Other surprising finds included the unexpected presence of nickel in the exoplanet's atmosphere. It is plausible that WASP-76 b obtained nickel by accretion material from a planet comparable to Mercury.
One of the keys to understanding the formation of gaseous planets is obtaining details about the elements present in the atmosphere of an exoplanet. And these new observations will be the key to further exploring and studying this extremely bizarre world.
The results have been published in the journal Nature.
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