WASP-39b isn’t just a fiery exoplanet, its skies contain chemicals that life hates. After discovering that WASP-39b’s atmosphere contained carbon dioxide, the Webb Space Telescope now provides an “inventory” of WASP-39 b’s atmospheric components, identifying sulfur dioxide that can only be explained by photochemical reactions.
Astrophysicists are no strangers to the exoplanet WASP-39b (also known as Bocaprins), about 700 light-years from Earth, a gas giant about the mass of Saturn and the size of Jupiter, but orbiting its parent The star orbits about the same distance as Mercury is from the Sun, making WASP-39b extremely hot.
In August of this year, the Webb Space Telescope for the first time clearly captured the definite evidence of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of WASP-39b; now, the Webb telescope has further identified WASP-39b’s list of more molecules and compounds, including water, carbon monoxide, sodium, potassium and mysterious Molecular sulfur dioxide, etc., which is produced in a manner similar to the Earth’s ozone layer; no obvious methane and hydrogen sulfide signatures were found.
In addition, the data suggest that these chemicals may be dispersed in clouds rather than in a single, uniform distribution across the atmosphere.
Listing such a complete list of chemical components in the atmosphere of an exoplanet will in turn allow scientists to better understand how the planet was formed. For example, after comparing the relative abundance of atmospheric chemical substances, it is found that WASP-39b is much more oxygen-rich than carbon, so the study Researchers believe that WASP-39b may have accumulated over time from planetesimals far from the central star.
(First image source: University of Chicago)