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A massive , gassy planet 1,300 light - years away is so raging , its clouds are made of quartz crystals . study it could aid scientist understand more about how cloud organize in extremealien environment .
The determination , published Oct. 16 inThe Astrophysical Journal Letters , comes from an outside team of researchers using theJames Webb Space Telescope(JWST ) .
An artist’s impression of the exoplanet WASP-17b, which may contain clouds of quartz in its atmosphere.
WASP-17b is a Jupiter - like exoplanet that scientists first distinguish in 2009 . It orbits exceedingly skinny to its virtuoso , which fire up its aura up to a blistering 2,700 degrees Fahrenheit ( 1,500 degrees Anders Celsius ) . The major planet itself is a spot of a lightweight ; though WASP-17b ’s wheel spoke is about twice that ofJupiter , it has only about one-half Jupiter ’s mass . This make WASP-17b one of the " puffiest " exoplanets discovered to date .
But stargazer recently discovered that WASP-17b ’s apparently fluffy cloud are hide a secret : They ’re compose of lilliputian , self-coloured - quartz crystals .
" We knew from Hubble observation that there must be aerosols — tiny particles making up clouds or haze — in WASP-17b ’s atmosphere , but we did n’t wait them to be made of quartz,“David Grant , an uranologist at the University of Bristol in the U.K. and first writer of the study , said in astatement . " We were thrilled ! "
These unexpected crystals are the first silica subatomic particle ever detected in anexoplanet ’s aura . The researchers believe that , unlike the minuscule microprocessor chip of rock candy that sometimes circulate in Earth ’s cloud , these vitreous silica were n’t drag up from WASP-17b ’s open . Instead , they organise directly in its air as the result of intense oestrus and air pressure . Based on how the crystals scatter starlight , the team figure that each gemstone is about 10 nanometers across — less than one - millionth the size of an average grain of sand .
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aright now , it remains unclear how pervasive these vitreous silica cloud are across WASP-17b . The planet is tidally locked , mean one side forever face its star while the other faces away . It ’s possible that the crystals circulate through the atmosphere on the Nox side , only to vaporize in the daylight .
WASP-17b ’s crystalline clouds are just one example of an strange exoplanet feature discovered using JWST ; in September , the scope made news show after detectingpotential signs of biological lifein the atmosphere of the exoplanet K2 - 18 b. shortly , the telescope will turn its instruments on other weird and wonderful worlds — and scientists are waiting with bated breath to see what it spot next .
