Astronomers observed the atmosphere of a planet beyond our solar system, mapping for the first time its three -dimensional structure.
Combining ESO (European Southern Observatory (ESO) VLT (Very Large Large Telescope), investigators have discovered powerful winds that carry chemical elements Like iron and titanium, creating intricate climatic patterns in the atmosphere of this exoplanet. This discovery opens the doors to detailed studies on the chemical composition and the climate of alien worlds.
“The atmosphere of this planet is shown challenging For our understanding of climate behavior, not only on Earth, but also in other planets. Really, It seems something out directly from science fiction! ”, Julia Victoria Seidel, ESO researcher in Chile and the main author, published in the journal Nature.
The planet WASP-121b (Also known as Tylos), is about 900 light years away from Earth, in the stern constellation, and is Jupiter Ultrachento, that is, it is a giant planet gaseous that orbits its host star so closely that a year on the planet lasts only about 30 terrestrial hours. In addition, one side of the planet is scorching, Since it is always turned to the star, while the other side is much colder.
The team probed the depths of the Tylos atmosphere and revealed different winds in different layers, creating a Three -dimensional map of the atmospheric structure. It is about first time that astronomers can study the atmosphere of a planet outside our solar system in so much detail.
“We discovered Something surprising: A jet chain turns the material around the planet’s equator, while another flow that exists at lower atmospheric levels transports gas from the warm side of the planet to the cold side. This type of climate has never been observed Previously on any planet, ”Julia Seidel, who is also a researcher at the Lagrange Laboratory of the La Côte d’Azur Observatoire, France.
A jet chain Observed extends by half of the planet, gaining speed and violently moving the upper atmosphere as it crosses the warm side of Tylos. “Even the stronger hurricanes that we observe no solar system They look calm Compared to this phenomenon, ”adds the researcher.
To reveal the three -dimensional structure of the atmosphere of this exoplanet, the team used the ESO VLT espresso instrument, which combines the radiation collected by the four main VLT telescopes in a single signal.
Thus, it is captured Four times more radiation than if a single telescope was used, so it is possible to reveal many more details.
Observing the planet during a complete traffic ahead of its host star, the espresso was able to detect signatures of various chemical elementsthus studying different layers of the atmosphere.
“The VLT has allowed us to probe three different layers of the exoplanet atmosphere at once,” explains study co-author Leonardo A. dos Santos, assistant astronomer at STSCI (Space Telescope Science Institute) in Baltimore, USA.
The team followed the movements of ferro, do sodium and from hydrogen, Thus managing to detect winds in the deep, medium and superficial layers of the planet’s atmosphere, respectively. “It is the type of observation that is very difficult to do with spatial telescopes, which emphasizes the importance of observing exolanets from the ground,” adds the scientist.
Interestingly, the observations also revealed the presence of titanium Just below the jet stream, as stressed in a complementary scientific published in the Astronomy & Astrophysics specialty journal.
This was another surprise, Once previous observations of this exoplanet had pointed to the absence of this element, possibly because it is hidden in the depths of the atmosphere.
“It’s truly impressive we can study details such as the chemical composition and the climatic patterns of a planet that is so far from us,” Bibiana Prinoth, a doctoral student at the University of Lund, Sweden, and Eso, who led complementary study and is also co -author of the article published in Nature.
To observe, however, the atmosphere of smaller planets similar to Earth, it takes larger telescopes, as will EXO’s Extremély Large Telescope, currently under construction in the Chilean desert of Atacama. “The ELT will completely change the study of exoplanet atmospheres,” says Prinoth. at the moment”.
