Hubble watches an exoplanet atmosphere change over three years

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In January 2024, NASA announced that the Hubble Space Telescope observed the atmosphere of the exoplanet WASP-121 b, also known as Tylos, change over three years. The astronomers used observations from 2016, 2018, and 2019 to compare the planet’s atmosphere over time. They found that the planet’s atmosphere is dynamic and changes over time

The astronomers used modeling techniques to show that the changes could be explained by weather patterns in the exoplanet’s atmosphere. The extreme environment creates a sharp temperature contrast between the planet’s day and night sides, leading to severe weather patterns. The planet’s permanent dayside reaches temperatures of around 2,329 degrees Celsius (4,224 degrees Fahrenheit), causing its atmosphere to become bloated. 

Studying exoplanets can provide clues to how our own Solar System formed and how Earth was created.

In January 2024, NASA announced that the Hubble Space Telescope observed changes in the atmosphere of the exoplanet WASP-121 b, also known as Tylos, over three years. 

The Hubble’s observations show that WASP-121b’s atmosphere is dynamic. The temperature gradient between the planet’s dayside and nightside creates huge storms and cyclones. Weather fronts also wash over the planet, and regions of hot and cooler air form, grow, and mix. 

The team created computer models to explain the changes they were seeing. The best explanation so far is that there are quasi-periodic weather patterns at Tylos. They resemble massive cyclones that arise, rage across the upper atmosphere, and then dissipate over time. 

The planet is so close to its star that its upper atmosphere reaches a blazing 4,600 degrees Fahrenheit, about 10 times greater than any known planetary atmosphere.

According to Space.com, Hubble’s observations show that the atmosphere of WASP-121b is dynamic. The temperature gradient between the planet’s dayside and nightside creates large storms and cyclones. The planet also experiences weather fronts and regions of hot and cooler air that form, grow, and mix.

Astronomers used Hubble observations from 2016, 2018, and 2019 to make this discovery. They also used computer modeling to find evidence of massive cyclones and other dynamic weather on the planet. The planet, also known as Tylos, is not habitable and is located about 858 light-years from Earth

Hubble’s observations show that WASP-121b’s atmosphere is dynamic, as the temperature gradient between the permanent dayside and everlasting nightside generate huge storms and cyclones; weather fronts also wash over the planet and regions of hot and cooler air form, grow and mix

According to MSN, Hubble’s observations show that the atmosphere of WASP-121b is dynamic. The temperature gradient between the planet’s dayside and nightside creates large storms and cyclones

The Hubble data also shows that the temperature on the nightside hemisphere drops by about 1500 degrees Celsius. This extreme temperature difference between the two hemispheres creates strong winds that sweep around the planet from west to east. 

The Hubble Space Telescope orbits about 340 miles above Earth’s surface, completing 15 orbits per day. It uses two types of transmitters to send data back to Earth: Multiple-Access Transponders (MATs) and S-Band Single-Access Transmitters (SSATs

Hubble’s observations show that WASP-121b’s atmosphere is dynamic, as the temperature gradient between the permanent dayside and everlasting nightside generate huge storms and cyclones; weather fronts also wash over the planet and regions of hot and cooler air form, grow and mix

The Hubble Space Telescope is a large telescope that orbits Earth, taking pictures of the universe to help scientists understand it better. It was launched in 1990 and is named after Edwin Hubble, who discovered the expansion of the universe

Here are some facts about the Hubble Space Telescope: 

  • It’s about the size of a large school bus and weighs 24,500 pounds. 
  • It orbits Earth at a speed of 17,000 miles per hour and takes 15 minutes to rotate 90 degrees. 
  • It orbits about 340 miles above Earth’s surface and completes 15 orbits per day. 
  • It has two 25-foot solar panels that gather energy from the sun. 
  • It has a main imager called the Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3), which captures ultraviolet and infrared light. 
  • It also has a Fine Guidance Sensor (FGS) that locks onto guide stars to ensure the telescope maintains its orientation during observations. 
  • It has a Cosmic Origin Spectrograph (COS) that sees exclusively in ultraviolet light. In 2001, Hubble made the first direct measurement of an exoplanet’s atmosphere.

The Hubble Space Telescope can observe objects up to 13.4 billion light-years away. This is because the universe is about 13.8 billion years old, and light from further away has not had time to reach us yet. 

The Hubble’s observations have greatly expanded our understanding of the cosmos and its history. The farthest observation that Hubble has made to date is of the galaxy GN-z11, which is located about 13.4 billion light-years away. 

The Hubble can see space better than telescopes on Earth can because Earth’s atmosphere changes and blocks some of the light that comes from space

(Full article source google)

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