The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) observed the atmosphere of a strange exoplanet, LTT 9779 b and found stunning details about its extreme weather patterns.
Earlier this year, in February, JWST's observations led by Louis-Philippe Coulombe, a graduate student at Universite de Montreal's Trottier Institute for Research on Exoplanets (IREx), revealed key details about its atmosphere.
Should it even exist?
Observations by Coulombe, published in Nature Astronomy, revealed that this rare exoplanet orbits its G-type star, LTT 9779, in less than a day (probably 19 hours), and it is tidally locked (just like Earth's Moon), which means that one side always faces its star while the other remains in darkness.
With temperatures reaching almost 2,000 degrees Celsius on its dayside, LTT 9779 is one of the few known planets in the "hot Neptune desert", where Neptunian planets aren't found that often.
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As per a recent press release, LTT-9779 b survives where only a few planets can. It maintains a carbon-rich atmosphere in a region where hot Neptune-class worlds are expected to evaporate, hence, scientists are stunned over its existence.
"This makes LTT-9779 b a valuable laboratory for studying atmospheric escape and chemical processes under extreme conditions, offering new insight into the survival of planets in the hot Neptune desert," the presser added.
Reflective silicate clouds?
As per the Coulombe team's discovery, the exoplanet's dayside hosts reflective clouds on its cooler western hemisphere as it manages to create a striking contrast to the hotter eastern side.
In another fascinating detail, the scientists discovered clouds made of materials like silicate minerals, which form on the slightly cooler western side of the planet's dayside.
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The presser mentioned that these reflective clouds help explain why this planet is so bright at visible wavelengths, bouncing back much of the star's light.
In an update about the planet's composition, the study also detected water vapour in the atmosphere. "By modeling LTT 9779 b's atmosphere in detail, we're starting to unlock the processes driving its alien weather patterns," said Coulombe's research advisor Bjorn Benneke, an UdeM professor of astronomy and co-author of the study.
Officially named Cuancoa, LTT 9779 b is an ultra-hot Neptune, with a mass about 29 times that of Earth. "Finding a planet of this size so close to its host star is like finding a snowball that hasn't melted in a fire," said Coulombe in a press release. "It's a testament to the diversity of planetary systems and offers a window into how planets evolve under extreme conditions."
The scientists said that this rare planetary system continues to challenge scientists' understanding of how planets form, migrate, and endure in the face of unrelenting stellar forces.
