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James Webb telescope gives new data about exoplanet WASP-39b.


Above: artist's vision of the exoplanet WASP-39b

WASP-39b is hot Saturn. Its mass is 0,94 times Saturn and 0,28 times Jupiter. The size of that exoplanet is 1,5 times Jupiter. 

And the reason for that is WASP-39b orbits so close to its sun. The distance to the WASP-39 system is 700 light years. 

The WASP-39 is a G-spectral class star. And that means star WASP-39 is quite similar to the Sun. 

The size of that star is slightly smaller than our Sun. And that makes the WASP-39b so interesting. There are known many gas giants that are orbiting M-type red dwarfs in close distance. 

But quite a small (read low-mass) gas planet that orbits quite a hot star very close is interesting. M-type red dwarfs have solar systems, where all planets are orbiting inside the distance of planet Mercury from their sun. But the WASP 39 is much hotter than some Gliese 581. 

The trajectory of WASP-39b is closer than the trajectory of Mercury. And the intensive heat causes the gas giant to bulge to an extremely large size. The question is why this planet didn't burn in the heat of its star. The solar wind and heat from the central star should blow the atmosphere of the planet and the planet itself away. 


"The atmospheric composition of the hot gas giant exoplanet WASP-39 b has been revealed by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. This graphic shows four transmission spectra from three of Webb’s instruments operated in four instrument modes. A transmission spectrum is made by comparing starlight filtered through a planet’s atmosphere as it moves in front of the star, to the unfiltered starlight detected when the planet is beside the star. Each of the data points (white circles) on these graphs represents the amount of a specific wavelength of light that is blocked by the planet and absorbed by its atmosphere."

"At upper left, data from NIRISS shows fingerprints of potassium (K), water (H2O), and carbon monoxide (CO). At upper right, data from NIRCam shows a prominent water signature. At lower left, data from NIRSpec indicates water, sulfur dioxide (SO2), carbon dioxide (CO2), and carbon monoxide (CO). At lower right, additional NIRSpec data reveals all of these molecules as well as sodium (Na). Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, Joseph Olmsted (STScI)" (ScitechDaily.com/As Never Seen Before: NASA’s Webb Reveals an Exoplanet Unlike Any in Our Solar System)



The James Webb telescope analyzed the atmosphere of WASP-39b when it traveled over its star. ScitechDily.com describes the atmosphere of the WASP-39b like this: 

"The suite of discoveries is detailed in a set of five new scientific papers, three of which are in press and two of which are under review. Among the unprecedented revelations is the first detection in an exoplanet atmosphere of sulfur dioxide (SO2), a molecule produced from chemical reactions triggered by high-energy light from the planet’s parent star. On Earth, the protective ozone layer in the upper atmosphere is created similarly".

(ScitechDaily.com/As Never Seen Before: NASA’s Webb Reveals an Exoplanet Unlike Any in Our Solar System)

"Other atmospheric constituents detected by the Webb telescope include sodium (Na), potassium (K), and water vapor (H2O), confirming previous space- and ground-based telescope observations as well as finding additional fingerprints of water, at these longer wavelengths, that haven’t been seen before".

(ScitechDaily.com/As Never Seen Before: NASA’s Webb Reveals an Exoplanet Unlike Any in Our Solar System)

"Webb also saw carbon dioxide (CO2) at higher resolution, providing twice as much data as reported from its previous observations. Meanwhile, carbon monoxide (CO) was detected, but obvious signatures of both methane (CH4) and hydrogen sulfide (H2S) were absent from the Webb data. If present, these molecules occur at very low levels". 

(ScitechDaily.com/As Never Seen Before: NASA’s Webb Reveals an Exoplanet Unlike Any in Our Solar System)

If carbon monoxide would found in some rocky planet's atmosphere, that would be a sign of life. But the WASP-39b is mainly a gas planet. So there is some kind of photochemical reactions that are forming those molecules. 

The thing that makes those molecules interesting is that. The radiation of the WASP-39 should destroy those molecules. The radiation from that star is very powerful. And that means water and methane are surprising chemical compounds. 

The temperature in the atmosphere of that planet is about 900 C. And that means the water should turn oxygen and hydrogen at that temperature which continues until the star vaporizes its planets. And that happens when WASP-39 turns into a red giant. 

Another interesting thing is why WASP-39b is so close to its star. Maybe it is formed somewhere else, and then some cosmic catastrophe pushed it close to the G-type yellow star. 

The fact is that the mass of WASP-39b is very low for forming in its present position. The solar wind from WASP-39 should destroy that protoplanet. And that makes the WASP-39 so interesting. 


https://scitechdaily.com/as-never-seen-before-nasas-webb-reveals-an-exoplanet-unlike-any-in-our-solar-system/


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gliese_581


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WASP-39b


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