One of the great advances in science in recent decades is the implementation of the space telescope James Webb of the POTwhich is identifying, light years away, a multitude of stars that govern the universe.
Well, the space telescope James Webb NASA has just identified the details of a new planet that could be classified as “hellish”.
The space telescope has determined that VHS 1256b, a planet about 40 light-years away, has a peculiar atmosphere, namely, made up of swirling clouds of hot sand that rise, mix and move during its 22-hour day. However, in its atmosphere, temperatures can exceed 815 °C.
They have also made detections of clear water, methane and carbon dioxide with data from the telescope, finding ample evidence, according to the team of researchers led by Brittany Miles from the University of Arizona.
It formed 150 million years ago which, in astronomical terms, is relatively close in time, and perhaps explains its turbulent skies due to its youth.
“No other telescope has identified so many features at once for a single target. We are seeing many molecules in a single Webb spectrum detailing the planet’s dynamic cloud and weather systems.”, points out andrew skemerfrom the University of California.
It has a low gravity compared to the largest brown dwarfs.
They were also able to detect larger and smaller silicate dust grains within the clouds. “The finer silicate grains in your atmosphere can look more like tiny particles in smoke. Larger grains could look more like very small, very hot sand particles“, Add Beth Biller from the University of Edinburgh.
The researchers claim that this planet has low gravity compared to larger brown dwarfs, hinting that its silicate clouds may appear and remain higher in its atmosphere.
“We have identified silicates, but better understanding which grain sizes and shapes match specific cloud types will require a lot of additional work. This isn’t the last word on this planet, it’s the start of a large-scale modeling effort to accommodate James Webb’s complex data.adds Brittany Miles.