The Webb Space Telescope recently stared at an exoplanet VHS 1256 b, and found that the planet’s atmosphere is surrounded by dense, smoky clouds, with a temperature as high as 830 ° C. It is also known that the planet is raining sand.
The Webb Space Telescope’s first early science observation release includes a series of spectra of exoplanets, emphasizing the importance of these planets to the mission’s science goals. In August last year, the Webb telescope detected the carbon dioxide of an exoplanet for the first time. In September, it released the first photo directly imaging an exoplanet. In November, it discovered a harmful atmosphere of an exoplanet. In January this year, it discovered a new planet. exoplanet.
Now, Webb has added another member to its list of exoplanet observations. The planet VHS 1256b is about 40 light-years from Earth and orbits a binary star system. Scientists used the near-infrared spectrometer (NIRSpec) and mid-infrared instrument (MIRI) of the Webb Telescope to observe the planet and found that there seemed to be silicate clouds in the upper atmosphere, which were as thick as smog, and these clouds would periodically fall into the depths of the planet , as it rains sand.
VHS 1256b has a lower gravitational pull than more massive brown dwarfs, suggesting that silicate clouds may arise and remain high in the atmosphere. Another reason for VHS 1256b’s turbulent skies is its age: it’s still young, only 150 million years old. Astronomers say that VHS 1256b won’t stay this hot, cloudy and chaotic forever, and that it will change and cool over billions of years, with thick clouds in the sky likely to dissipate.
In addition to silicate clouds, the team also detected chemicals such as water, methane, carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide in VHS 1256b, making it the exoplanet with the largest number of molecules ever discovered simultaneously. Researchers are still working to classify all detected particles and modify models to figure out the exoplanet’s atmosphere.
(First image source: NASA)