Extreme winds, inhospitable conditions and flying rocks. Telescope reveals details of extreme conditions beyond the solar system
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has provided a weather forecast for the distant exoplanet Wasp-43b. It predicts extreme wind speeds, extremely hot temperatures and «rocky» clouds. Exoplanet demonstrates just how unusual planets outside our solar system can be.
WASP-43b orbits a star located approximately 283 light-years from Earth. In fact, it is so close to its star that it orbits in just 19 Earth hours. This proximity of about 2.1 million kilometers means that the planet, with about 1.8 times the mass of Jupiter and 0.9 times the width of the gas giant, is tidally locked to its star WASP-43.< /p>
Thus, one side of WASP-43b — her daytime side — is constantly facing the star and is constantly bombarded by radiation from the star, causing planetary temperatures to soar to about 2,300 degrees Fahrenheit (1,250 degrees Celsius). This is enough to melt lead. The other side of the planet — her night side — constantly facing out into space, causing the temperature to drop to a relatively low 1,110 degrees Fahrenheit (600 degrees Celsius). These qualities classify WASP-43b as «hot Jupiter».
The JWST Transiting Exoplanet Early Release Science (JTEC-ERS) team used the telescope's Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) to classify WASP-43b's climate and weather types on the day and night sides.
«Thanks to JWST's observing capabilities, WASP-43b was revealed in unprecedented detail. We see a complex, inhospitable world with fierce winds, wild temperature swings, and patchy clouds likely made of rock drops, — said team member Laura Kreidberg, director of the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy (MPIA).
WASP-43b was discovered in 2011 using the transit method — The drop in the star's brightness occurred when the planet passed between its star and the Earth. During the transit, scientists also saw that the infrared light emitted by the planet changed.
The main finding of JWST's study of WASP-43b resulted from changes in infrared light observed between the exoplanet's day and night sides as it orbited its star. In particular, these variations helped scientists construct a map showing how temperature is distributed throughout «hot Jupiter».
The team found that the difference in temperature between the day and night sides of WASP-43b was too great to be seen in a cloud-free atmosphere. However, any possible clouds above WASP-43b's surface are unlikely to be water like those that envelop the Earth. It wouldn't even be ammonia clouds like those around Jupiter. WASP-43b is too hot for both. Rather, the clouds of this «unusual world» may be made of stone.
Evaporated material is transported from the day side to the night side of WASP-43b by powerful winds reaching speeds of 9000 kilometers per hour. This is three and a half times the maximum speed of a fighter jet on Earth. Then, once on the night side of the planet, scientists believe this material cools and condenses. This means that the dense cloud cover on the night side of WASP-43b is most likely composed of droplets of liquid rock that evaporated on the day side of the planet.