Astronomers create a 3D model of exoplanet WASP-17b’s atmosphere — Space.com
Astronomers, using data from the James Webb Space Telescope, have created a three-dimensional model of the atmosphere of the exoplanet WASP-17b, located approximately 1,300 light-years from Earth. The researchers found that this world’s atmosphere is not uniform: in the model, it takes the form of a ring with distinct protrusions that the team figuratively called “gemstones.” Space.com reports on the results.
An inflated hot planet
WASP-17b has a mass of approximately 0.8 Jupiter masses, but its diameter is about twice that of the largest planet in the Solar System. Due to this combination of parameters, it is compared to a marshmallow. The exoplanet orbits very close to its star and completes a full orbit in less than four Earth days, placing it in the hot Jupiter class.
The planet is tidally locked: one side constantly faces the star and is exposed to intense radiation, while the other permanently faces space and is colder. The three-dimensional reconstruction showed that the temperature and chemical composition of the atmosphere vary between the day and night sides in accordance with theoretical models.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
Observations during transit
For the analysis, the team used the transmission strings method. It makes it possible to study light near the edge of the planet’s atmosphere from different angles when WASP-17b passes in front of its star. Traditional models average data across the entire edge region of the atmosphere, while the new approach made it possible to trace differences in its individual areas.
One such protrusion in the model appears in the zone where the planet’s hot winds reach the equator and the night side: the atmosphere on the cooler side expands. Scientists consider the successful application of the method a step toward modeling the atmospheres of more than 6,000 worlds in NASA’s exoplanet catalog. The study was published in the journal Nature Astronomy.
