Another first has been achieved by the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope: a molecular and chemical profile of the skies of another planet. While the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and Webb had previously identified individual components of this heated planet's atmosphere, the new data offer a whole menu of atoms, molecules, and even indications of active chemistry and clouds. The most recent data also provide an indication as to how these clouds would seem up close: fragmented rather than covering the planet uniformly.
The atmosphere of WASP-39 b, a "hot Saturn" (a planet roughly the mass of Saturn in an orbit tighter than Mercury), circling a star some 700 light-years away, was the focus of the telescope's array of highly sensitive equipment. One of the first exoplanets studied by the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope when it started conducting routine science observations was this Saturn-sized object. The exoplanet science community is thrilled by the findings. Water, sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide, sodium, and potassium are among the several components of WASP-39 b's atmosphere that have been discovered by Webb's incredibly sensitive detectors.
The results are encouraging for Webb's instruments' potential to carry out the wide range of exoplanet investigations that the scientific community has hoped for. Exoplanets are planets that orbit other stars. The atmospheres of smaller, stony planets like those in the TRAPPIST-1 system can be probed as part of this.
Natalie Batalha, an astronomer at the University of California, Santa Cruz, who contributed to and helped coordinate the new research, said, "We observed the exoplanet with several instruments that together cover a broad swath of the infrared spectrum and a panoply of chemical fingerprints inaccessible until JWST. "Data like these change the game,"
Five new scientific papers—three of which are under review and one of which is in press—cover the discoveries in depth. One of the ground-breaking discoveries is the discovery of sulphur dioxide for the first time in an exoplanet atmosphere. This molecule is the result of chemical processes started by high-energy light from the planet's parent star. Similar processes are used on Earth to produce the protective ozone layer in the upper atmosphere.
The lead author of the paper describing the origin of sulphur dioxide in WASP-39 b's atmosphere, Shang-Min Tsai, a researcher at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, said, "This is the first time we have seen concrete evidence of photochemistry - chemical reactions initiated by energetic stellar light - on exoplanets." "I think [this project] has a really bright future for expanding our knowledge of exoplanet atmospheres."
Consequently, scientists applied computer models of photochemistry to data that needed such physics to be completely explained, which was a first. The modelling advancements that resulted will contribute to the development of the technological know-how required to decipher future indications of habitability.
Planets circling beneath the host star's radiation bath are "sculpted and reshaped," according to Batalha. "Those changes on Earth enable life to flourish."
Eight times closer to its home star than Mercury is to our Sun, the planet serves as a testing ground for the effects of radiation from host stars on exoplanets. Improved comprehension of the star-planet relationship should lead to a greater comprehension of how these processes impact the variety of planets seen in the galaxy.
The Webb telescope also picked up the atmospheric elements sodium (Na), potassium (K), and water vapour (H2O), which confirmed earlier discoveries made by ground- and space-based telescopes and discovered new signatures of water at these longer wavelengths.
Additionally, Webb saw carbon dioxide (CO2) with twice the resolution of its prior observations, yielding more information. Meanwhile, carbon monoxide (CO) was found, but the Webb data lacked methane (CH4) and hydrogen sulfide (H2S) evident signs. If present, these compounds are only found in very small amounts.
An multinational team of hundreds independently analyzed the data from four of the Webb telescope's carefully calibrated sensor modes to capture this wide spectrum.
Hannah Wakeford, an astronomer at the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom who studies exoplanet atmospheres, stated, "We had projected what [the telescope] would show us, but it was more precise, more diverse, and more beautiful than I think I genuinely believed it would be.
An exoplanet's atmosphere's extensive list of chemical constituents also allows researchers to see how abundant various elements are in proportion to one another, such as the carbon-to-oxygen or potassium-to-oxygen ratios. This in turn sheds light on how this planet—and possibly others—formed from the disc of gas and dust that surrounded the parent star when it was still a young star.
The chemical makeup of WASP-39 b points to a history of collisions and mergers between planetary bodies, or smaller worlds, to form a final goliath of a planet.
According to Kazumasa Ohno, an exoplanet researcher at UC Santa Cruz who worked with the Webb data, "the abundance of sulphur [compared to] hydrogen suggested that the planet apparently had extensive accretion of planetary bodies that can supply [these ingredients] to the atmosphere." The statistics also show that the abundance of oxygen in the atmosphere is far greater than that of carbon. This would suggest that WASP-39 b first developed far from the main star.
The Webb telescope's equipment performed far above scientists' expectations by correctly showing the characteristics of an exoplanet atmosphere. This performance heralds a new phase of investigation of the vast variety of exoplanets in the galaxy.
As a member of the international team and a researcher at Cornell University, Laura Flagg remarked, "We are going to be able to glimpse the overall picture of exoplanet atmospheres." Knowing that everything will be rewritten is really exciting. One of the best things about being a scientist is that.
The results are encouraging for Webb's instruments' potential to carry out the wide range of exoplanet investigations that the scientific community has hoped for. Exoplanets are planets that orbit other stars. The atmospheres of smaller, stony planets like those in the TRAPPIST-1 system can be probed as part of this.
Natalie Batalha, an astronomer at the University of California, Santa Cruz, who contributed to and helped coordinate the new research, said, "We observed the exoplanet with several instruments that together cover a broad swath of the infrared spectrum and a panoply of chemical fingerprints inaccessible until JWST. "Data like these change the game,"
Five new scientific papers—three of which are under review and one of which is in press—cover the discoveries in depth. One of the ground-breaking discoveries is the discovery of sulphur dioxide for the first time in an exoplanet atmosphere. This molecule is the result of chemical processes started by high-energy light from the planet's parent star. Similar processes are used on Earth to produce the protective ozone layer in the upper atmosphere.
The lead author of the paper describing the origin of sulphur dioxide in WASP-39 b's atmosphere, Shang-Min Tsai, a researcher at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, said, "This is the first time we have seen concrete evidence of photochemistry - chemical reactions initiated by energetic stellar light - on exoplanets." "I think [this project] has a really bright future for expanding our knowledge of exoplanet atmospheres."
Consequently, scientists applied computer models of photochemistry to data that needed such physics to be completely explained, which was a first. The modelling advancements that resulted will contribute to the development of the technological know-how required to decipher future indications of habitability.
Planets circling beneath the host star's radiation bath are "sculpted and reshaped," according to Batalha. "Those changes on Earth enable life to flourish."
Eight times closer to its home star than Mercury is to our Sun, the planet serves as a testing ground for the effects of radiation from host stars on exoplanets. Improved comprehension of the star-planet relationship should lead to a greater comprehension of how these processes impact the variety of planets seen in the galaxy.
The Webb telescope also picked up the atmospheric elements sodium (Na), potassium (K), and water vapour (H2O), which confirmed earlier discoveries made by ground- and space-based telescopes and discovered new signatures of water at these longer wavelengths.
Additionally, Webb saw carbon dioxide (CO2) with twice the resolution of its prior observations, yielding more information. Meanwhile, carbon monoxide (CO) was found, but the Webb data lacked methane (CH4) and hydrogen sulfide (H2S) evident signs. If present, these compounds are only found in very small amounts.
An multinational team of hundreds independently analyzed the data from four of the Webb telescope's carefully calibrated sensor modes to capture this wide spectrum.
Hannah Wakeford, an astronomer at the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom who studies exoplanet atmospheres, stated, "We had projected what [the telescope] would show us, but it was more precise, more diverse, and more beautiful than I think I genuinely believed it would be.
An exoplanet's atmosphere's extensive list of chemical constituents also allows researchers to see how abundant various elements are in proportion to one another, such as the carbon-to-oxygen or potassium-to-oxygen ratios. This in turn sheds light on how this planet—and possibly others—formed from the disc of gas and dust that surrounded the parent star when it was still a young star.
The chemical makeup of WASP-39 b points to a history of collisions and mergers between planetary bodies, or smaller worlds, to form a final goliath of a planet.
According to Kazumasa Ohno, an exoplanet researcher at UC Santa Cruz who worked with the Webb data, "the abundance of sulphur [compared to] hydrogen suggested that the planet apparently had extensive accretion of planetary bodies that can supply [these ingredients] to the atmosphere." The statistics also show that the abundance of oxygen in the atmosphere is far greater than that of carbon. This would suggest that WASP-39 b first developed far from the main star.
The Webb telescope's equipment performed far above scientists' expectations by correctly showing the characteristics of an exoplanet atmosphere. This performance heralds a new phase of investigation of the vast variety of exoplanets in the galaxy.
As a member of the international team and a researcher at Cornell University, Laura Flagg remarked, "We are going to be able to glimpse the overall picture of exoplanet atmospheres." Knowing that everything will be rewritten is really exciting. One of the best things about being a scientist is that.
Additional Details:
The Webb telescope is the biggest, most potent telescope ever put into orbit. ESA provided the telescope's launch service through the use of the Ariane 5 launch vehicle as per an international cooperative agreement. ESA was in charge of creating and qualifying the Ariane 5 modifications for the Webb mission in collaboration with partners, as well as procuring the launch service from Arianespace. Additionally, the ESA contributed the reliable spectrograph NIRSpec and 50% of the mid-infrared instrument MIRI, which was developed and constructed in collaboration with JPL and the University of Arizona by a group of European Institutes with national funding (the MIRI European Consortium). Webb is a multinational collaboration involving the Canadian Space Agency, NASA, and ESA (CSA).
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