Metal clouds have been discovered in the atmosphere of two exoplanets

In the Milky Way, astronomers discover a lot of curiosity. The hot planets and he Especially close to their star She is an example. However, the scientists are not at the end of their surprise. recently noticed mysterious phenomenon In the upper layers of the atmospheres of two exoplanets in the Milky Way.

Astronomers have discovered that these two planets have Relatively heavy metal in their atmosphere. Both are gas planets WASP-76b and WASP-121b. Because they are so close to their star, they are also among the hot planets.

The astronomers who made this discovery published the article on this topic on September 13 Astronomy and astrophysics.

Barium in the air

Previous research has already shown a statement presence of metals In the atmosphere of WASP-76b and WASP-121b. usually present in the form of clouds.

In the atmosphere of WASP-121b there are among other things iron, chromium, vanadium, nickel and even magnesium. As for WASP-76b, calcium and vanadium oxide are as well Titanium oxide is present in these clouds.

If this discovery is indeed impressive, then The latest discovery of barium In their atmosphere more than that. Moreover, astronomer Tomas Azevedo Silva, of the Institute of Astrophysics and Space Sciences (IA) in Portugal, expressed his astonishment.

“We weren’t expecting to find barium in particular, we weren’t looking for it, and we had to verify that it was from the planet, because it hadn’t been spotted on any exoplanets before.”

Thomas Azevedo Silva

For a better understanding of hot Jupiter

study The formation of the outer planets It requires rigorous work with a lot of precision. However, the results were worth the effort, because An opportunity to develop knowledge of these exoplanets.

In concrete terms, astronomers have managed to find out More about hot Jupiters. The important point is that these gas giants are close to their sun Their mysterious formation. For good reason, the intensity of gravity, the solar wind, and radiation from the star were supposed to make agglomeration of gases impossible.

However, the team’s work led to another observation regarding WASP-121b. Hot Jupiter presents Atmospheric leak. In fact, it evaporates because of it star luminous. Thus, scientists have other evidence to support this hot planets You can’t survive for long Very close to the star.

source : Sciences