Astronomers find exoplanet with cloud-free atmosphere

London: Astronomers have found that a planet outside our solar system, which is similar to Saturn in mass and exceeds the size of Jupit...



London: Astronomers have found that a planet outside our solar system, which is similar to Saturn in mass and exceeds the size of Jupiter by 20 per cent, has an atmosphere free of clouds.

The hot gas giant, WASP-96b, periodically transits a Sun-like star 980 light years away in the southern constellation Phoenix.


Using the the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope in Chile, the team studied the atmosphere of WASP-96b when the planet passed in front of its host-star.

This enabled the team to measure the decrease of starlight caused by the planet and its atmosphere, and thereby determine the planet's atmospheric composition.

"We've been looking at more than twenty exoplanet transit spectra. WASP-96b is the only exoplanet that appears to be entirely cloud-free and shows such a clear sodium signature, making the planet a benchmark for characterisation," said lead author of the study Nikolay Nikolov from University of Exeter in Britain.

Just like an individual's fingerprints are unique, atoms and molecules have a unique spectral characteristic that can be used to detect their presence in celestial objects.

The spectrum of WASP-96b shows the complete fingerprint of sodium, which can only be observed for an atmosphere free of clouds, according to the study published in the journal Nature.

It has long been predicted that sodium exists in the atmospheres of hot gas-giant exoplanets, and in a cloud-free atmosphere it would produce spectra that are similar in shape to the profile of a camping tent.

"Until now, sodium was revealed either as a very narrow peak or found to be completely missing. This is because the characteristic 'tent-shaped' profile can only be produced deep in the atmosphere of the planet and for most planet clouds appear to get in the way," Nikolov added.

Clouds and hazes are known to exist in some of the hottest and coldest solar system planets and exoplanets.

The presence or absence of clouds and their ability to block light plays an important role in the overall energy budget of planetary atmospheres.

"It is difficult to predict which of these hot atmospheres will have thick clouds. By seeing the full range of possible atmospheres, from very cloudy to nearly cloud-free like WASP-96b, we'll gain a better understanding of what these clouds are made of," explains study co-author Jonathan Fortney, Professor at University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC), US.


-Source: News Agency

COMMENTS


*

Name

AROUND THE GLOBE,3429,business,74,BY READERS,479,FEATURE,289,GLOBE,16,KERALA,13,Movie,327,s,1,SPECIAL STORY,394,TAMILNADU,3,TOP STORY,4150,TRAVEL,8,
ltr
item
Local Glob: Astronomers find exoplanet with cloud-free atmosphere
Astronomers find exoplanet with cloud-free atmosphere
https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-T5iY8TYVGqQ/WvGaeEUcEII/AAAAAAAABYQ/F49eNwVtvDQvXCetBJwhbVuhcNRHEc92ACLcBGAs/s320/planet.jpg
https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-T5iY8TYVGqQ/WvGaeEUcEII/AAAAAAAABYQ/F49eNwVtvDQvXCetBJwhbVuhcNRHEc92ACLcBGAs/s72-c/planet.jpg
Local Glob
http://www.localglob.com/2018/05/astronomers-find-exoplanet-with-cloud.html
http://www.localglob.com/
http://www.localglob.com/
http://www.localglob.com/2018/05/astronomers-find-exoplanet-with-cloud.html
true
8255692317570297677
UTF-8
Loaded All Posts Not found any posts VIEW ALL Readmore Reply Cancel reply Delete By Home PAGES POSTS View All RECOMMENDED FOR YOU LABEL ARCHIVE SEARCH ALL POSTS Not found any post match with your request Back Home Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat January February March April May June July August September October November December Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec just now 1 minute ago $$1$$ minutes ago 1 hour ago $$1$$ hours ago Yesterday $$1$$ days ago $$1$$ weeks ago more than 5 weeks ago Followers Follow THIS CONTENT IS PREMIUM Please share to unlock Copy All Code Select All Code All codes were copied to your clipboard Can not copy the codes / texts, please press [CTRL]+[C] (or CMD+C with Mac) to copy