James Webb Space Telescope Finds Alien Planet With Clouds Made Of Sand-Like Grains
The James Webb Space Telescope is the miracle that keeps on giving! The space observatory has now found an alien planet with something odd. In the image, this planet's clouds look like they're made of sand.
The clouds in question may not be made of the sand we're used to seeing on Earth, but are instead made of sand-like silicate grains. This exoplanet's characteristics were detailed in a new paper awaiting publication, based on data from James Webb Space Telescope's NIRSpec and MIRI instruments.
A brown dwarf with clouds of silicate
The brown dwarf is 20 times bigger than Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system, and scientists have found evidence of silicate-rich clouds around this exoplanet. What are brown dwarfs, you wonder? These cosmic objects are not big enough to become stars but are too large to be planets. Think of a space object that's neither star not planet, but also both.
Brown dwarfs are able to produce their own light and heat by burning deuterium - an uncommon isotope of hydrogen. This particular brown dwarf is called VHS 1256 b and orbits two small red dwarf stars 72 light-years away from Earth in the constellation Corvus.?
Also read:?James Webb Space Telescope's First Direct Image Of An Exoplanet Is Here
First spotted in 2016, the exoplanet has bothered scientists since then. It was only after James Webb's observations that astronomers found that VHS 1256 b is wrapped in thick clouds of silicate grains that are a lot like sand. In addition, Webb also detected water, methane, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, sodium, and potassium in the atmosphere of this brown dwarf.
Data from the space observatory also shows that the exoplanet's atmosphere is not still, but instead is always undergoing extreme changes. VHS 1256 b is young, scientists think, for it is small for a brown dwarf. To complete one orbit around its two host stars, the exoplanet takes 17,000 long years!
Also read:?Stunning Picture Of Einstein Ring Captured By James Webb Space Telescope
The paper is not yet published and peer-reviewed. Its preprint is available on arXiv.org.?
What do you think about this strange alien world? Let us know in the comments below.?For more in the world of?technology?and?science, keep reading?Indiatimes.com.
References
Pultarova, T. (2022, September 7). James Webb Space Telescope spots alien planet shrouded in weird sand-filled clouds. Space.com. Retrieved September 8, 2022, from https://www.space.com/james-webb-space-telescope-exoplanet-sand-clouds
