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A fiendish " hot Jupiter " planet deposit relatively close to Earth would in all probability smell like rotten eggs if we ever made the trip to visit it , new data from theJames Webb Space Telescope(JWST ) reveal .
HD 189733 b is a gas giant locate around 64 light - years away in the Vulpecula constellation . It orbit highly close to its home plate whizz — around 13 times closer thanMercuryorbitsthe Lord’s Day — and completes one field every two day . As a resultant , the exoplanet ’s surface can reach a scorching - hot 1,700 degrees Fahrenheit ( 925 level Celsius ) — hot enough to melt certain types of Rock into magma .
Exoplanet HD 189733 b circles its home star 13 times closer than Mercury orbits the sun.
old observations uncover that theexoplanetlikely rain down liquefied glass , which is probably blown sideways by wind that move around up to 500 mph ( 800 km / h ) — around three times fast than a Category 5 hurricane on Earth .
In a new study , bring out July 8 in the journalNature , researchers turn JWST toward HD 189733 b to discover more about the singular alien man . In addition to measuring the amount of carbon dioxide , oxygen , water and heavy metals in the exoplanet ’s atmospheric state , the squad discover that it contained hydrogen sulphide — a toxic and flammable colorless flatulency given off by dilapidate organic topic and volcanoes on Earth , which smells like rotten eggs .
The researchers had previously suspected that hydrogen sulfide could be find on removed gun heavyweight because the atmospheres ofJupiterandUranuscontain the same molecule . However , the natural gas has rarely been pick out outside of thesolar systemapart from trace sum of money in the interstellar sensitive , or space between stars , researchers wrote in astatement .
HD 189733 b likely has molten glass rain and hurricane-strength winds.
The find of H sulphide on HD 189733 Bel is an important " stepping pit for finding this molecule on other planets and gaining more understanding of how unlike types of planet shape , " study Pb authorGuangwei Fu , an astrophysicist at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland , say in the statement .
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The presence of hydrogen sulphide is significant because it means the exoplanet contains atomic number 16 , which is " a vital factor for work up more complex mote , " Fu aver . Sulfur is also a key component for almost all lifeforms on Earth .
In this font , HD 189733 b is very unlikely to harborextraterrestrial lifebecause of its hellish temperature and conditions atmospheric condition , Fu said . However , knowing it can be find on remote reality outside the solar system could raise the possibility of a alike exoplanet sustaining some frame of alien life .
The researchers are now plan to utilise JWST to study similar " hot Jupiters " to see if they too contain hydrogen sulfide .
JWST has revolutionize how scientist study exoplanets like HD 189733 b. The scope ’s state - of - the - artistry instrument can find different chemical from across the cosmos , includinggreenhouse gases on solar scheme moons , water system surrounding remote starsandcarbon at the break of the day of the universe .
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Last year , the telescope recognize a alike molecule , known as dimethyl sulphide , in the skies of the ocean - covered exoplanet K2 - 18 b. This gas , which was previously only fuck to be create by living organisms in Earth ’s oceans , suggest that this alien world and others might be open of harboring life sentence . However , the presence of this moleculehas yet to be confirmedby follow - up research .
Scientists also believe that if JWST were positioned on the other side of theMilky Way , it wouldbe capable to detect signs of spirit on Earth .
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