The temperature reaches 2500 ° C on the exoplanet WASP-33b. This temperature is so high that any metal can melt in it.
Atmosphere of Exoplanet Wasp 33b (NASA)
It is common to find hydroxyl (HO) molecules on Earth. Till now astronomers did not know how abundant it is available in the outside world. But now astronomers have detected its presence on the exoplanet WASP-33b larger than Jupiter for the first time. WASP-33b is 400 light years away from Earth. It is identified as a very hot planet. A large amount of gas is present on this planet and it revolves around its close Sun just like the planet Mercury.
Being so close to its sun, the temperature on WASP-33b reaches 2500 ° C. This temperature is so high that any metal can melt in it. This exoplanet is also special because it is the main contender for understanding the alien environment. Due to such a high temperature, the chemicals present here leave the radiation in the atmosphere. Leaving the radiation of the chemical on WASP-33b while circling your sun causes redshift and blueshift. This gives astronomers information about this planet.
Astronomers detected hydroxyl via Subaru telescope
Redshift and blueshift explain how light shifts towards shorter or longer wavelengths when objects in space move closer or farther away from us. Using this technique, an international group of astronomers, led by a researcher at the Center for Astrobiology at Queen’s University Belfast, began to explore chemicals in the WASP-33b environment. For this, he used the Subaru telescope. In this way they were detected hydroxyl in the atmosphere of WASP-33b. It has an atom of oxygen, while the other is an atom of hydrogen.
First evidence of HO meeting beyond the solar system
Hydroxyl plays an important role in WASP-33b’s chemical mixture of environments. The reason behind this is that hydroxyl reacts with water vapor and carbon monoxide. Astrobiology Center researcher Dr. Stevens Nugroho said that this is the first evidence of HO meeting in the atmosphere of a planet far away from the solar system. This suggests that astronomers can not only detect this molecule in the exoplanet atmosphere, but they can understand the extensive chemistry of the planet’s population.
How hydroxyl is made on WASP-33b
Hydroxyl is formed in the atmosphere on Earth when water vapor makes contact with oxygen. At the same time, hydroxyl is formed on WASP-33b when the heat emanating from the star separates the water vapor. Scientists say that every new atmospheric species discovered improves our understanding of exoplanets and the techniques required to study their atmospheres. At the same time, it takes us closer to our goal of understanding exoplanet better.
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