Discovery of a silicate cloud and multiple particles on a giant planet of hot gases. Results of the Webb Space Telescope sorae portal site to space

It revolves around a celestial body other than the sunexoplanetThere are various reasons for monitoring. For example, observing minor planets could be a way to observe the early days of the solar system without using a time machine.

Of great importance is the composition of the atmosphere of these young planets. What kind of components are present in a small planet’s atmosphere is key information for estimating subsequent changes in the composition of the atmosphere and the evolution of the planet as a whole. Using this observational record, for example, would be a guide for appreciating what Jupiter and Saturn looked like when they were young and how they have changed up to the present.

Normally, to understand the composition of a planet’s atmosphere, it is necessary to capture electromagnetic waves emitted by atoms and molecules in the atmosphere. Since there is a limit to the wavelength and sensitivity of electromagnetic waves that can be captured by a single telescope, multiple telescopes will be required to learn more about the composition of the planet’s atmosphere. Renting multiple telescopes was expensive and time consuming, and was an obstacle to research.

「James Webb Space Telescope(JWST) “has the potential to work around this situation. This is because the Webb Space Telescope can observe infrared radiation over a wide range of wavelengths, so it may be possible to capture many atmospheric particles at once.

A research team led by Brittany E. Miles of the University of Arizona targeted a planetary atmosphere observation target for the Webb Space Telescope, a gas giant planet.VHS 1256-1257 b“I chose (※) . VHS 1256-1257 b is estimated to orbit 22.5 billion km from the brown dwarf binary, with a time span of about 10,000 years.

* … The estimated mass of VHS 1256-1257 b is estimated to be less than 20 times that of Jupiter. Brown dwarfs are said to be celestial bodies with a mass of 13 times the mass of Jupiter or more, so there is also a description that VHS 1256-1257 b is not a planet but a brown dwarf. In this case, VHS 1256-1257 would be a triple binary of brown dwarfs.

VHS 1256-1257 b was chosen for observation in part because it is 150 times farther from the Sun than Earth and four times the distance from the Sun to Pluto. At this distance, the brown dwarf is out of sight and the light of VHS 1256-1257 b can only be captured by instruments.

In similar planetary observations made so far it has been necessary to block the light of fixed stars and brown dwarfs with coronal vertebrae, etc., or to account for the difference. This processing increases the uncertainty in the data, so VHS 1256-1257 b, which can be observed without correction, has a huge advantage.

[▲ الشكل 2: الخطوط الطيفية لـ VHS 1256-1257 ب. بالإضافة إلى السيليكات ، تم العثور على خطوط طيفية تشير إلى وجود الماء والميثان وأول أكسيد الكربون. هذه هي المرة الأولى في تاريخ الملاحظة التي تم فيها إثبات وجود ثلاثة أنواع من الجزيئات بشكل واضح في وقت واحد. (Credit: NASA، ESA، CSA، J. Olmsted (STScI)؛ Science: Brittany Miles (University of Arizona)، Sasha Hinkley (University of Exeter)، Beth Biller (University of Edinburgh)، Andrew Skemer (University of California، Santa) كروز))]

As a result of observation, it was found that there are silicate clouds in the atmosphere, more precisely clouds consisting of grains of olivine and quartz.

The presence of silicate clouds in the upper atmosphere may be related to the characteristics of VHS 1256-1257b. First, VHS 1256-1257 b rotates on its axis every 22 hours, causing the atmosphere to rotate. In addition, VHS 1256-1257 b is only 150 million years old and has a lot of heat left over from the formation of the planet, so the highest temperature on record is 830 degrees Celsius.

In order for silicates to float in the upper atmosphere far from Earth, it is necessary not only for the atmosphere to circulate, but also for the high temperatures of melting and evaporation of the silicates. The discovery of the acidic salt is consistent with the previous one. Notes.

On the other hand, VHS 1256-1257 b orbits farther from the brown dwarf, so it receives very little heat from it. As the temperature of VHS 1256-1257 b has decreased over time, the silicates are presumed to be disappearing from the atmosphere.

The Webb Space Telescope has also discovered several other molecules besides silicates. Among them, the presence of water, methane, and carbon monoxide was clearly confirmed, and the possible presence of carbon dioxide, potassium, and sodium was indicated.This is the first time that three types of molecules in an exoplanet’s atmosphere have been reliably detected in a single observation.He is. In addition, the short observation time of a few hours indicates that the Webb Space Telescope is very sensitive to the observed wavelength range.

However, there are still some missing data points for the monitoring results. Ongoing observations of VHS 1256-1257 b itself and other exoplanets with similar characteristics are expected to further clarify the characteristics of the young gas giants.

source

• Brittany E Miles et al. “JWST Science Program Early Launch Direct Observation of Exoplanet Systems II: 1-20 µm Spectrum of Planetary-Mass Companion VHS 1256-1257 b”. (The Astrophysical Journal Letters)
• Laura Betz and others. “NASA Web Sites Swirl, Bold Clouds on Distant Planet”. (JPL/NASA)

Text: Rare Aya