NASA says this planet is just too damn hot to exist
Oh, the Hot TESS!
Orbiting close to itssun, in a region known as a Neptune desert, a year on LTT 9779 b lasts less than 24 hours. But, that is just one of the extreme conditions in this bizarre world.
“This planet doesn’t have a solid surface, and it’s much hotter even than Mercury in our solar system — not only would lead melt in the atmosphere of this planet, but so would platinum, chromium, and stainless steel,” Crossfield said.
This exoplanet was one of the first Neptune-sized worlds discovered by the orbitingTransiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS).
In the first study of the spectra of any world discovered by TESS, researchers also created the first temperature map ever developed of a TESS planet with an atmosphere.
“Infrared light tells you the temperature of something and where the hotter and cooler parts of this planet are — on Earth, it’s not hottest at noon; it’s hottest a couple of hours into the afternoon. But on this planet, it’s actually hottest just about at noon,” Crossfield stated.
In the video above, an introduction to exoplanets. (Video credit: National Geographic)
Theplanetwas found to be cooler than expected, suggesting the atmosphere of LTT 9779b is likely cloudy, quickly radiating heat back to space.
Neptune-sized worlds seen this close to their parent stars are usually former Jupiter-sized worlds or massive rocky planets that have long ago lost their atmosphere.
“Although most of the dozens of phase curve measurements made to date are of large, massive hot Jupiters, there is considerable interest in probing the atmospheres of the smaller planets that are the more typical end product of the planet formation process. One such planet that is favorable for these studies is the ultra-hot Neptune LTT 9779b, a rare denizen of the Neptune desert,” researchers write in an article published in theAstrophysical Journal LettersOctober 26.
As technology advances, astronomers are starting to understand theatmospheresof smaller worlds. Several mysteries surrounding LTT 9779b and hot Neptunes remain for astronomers.
“How is this planet able to retain its atmosphere? How did it form in the first place? Was it initially larger but has lost part of its original atmosphere? If so, then why is its atmosphere not just a scaled-down version of the atmospheres of ultra-hot larger exoplanets? And what else might be lurking in its atmosphere?” Crossfield questions.
Story byThe Cosmic Companion
Exploring the wonders of the Cosmos, one mystery at a time.Exploring the wonders of the Cosmos, one mystery at a time.
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