US EditionScientists Spot Strange Lemon-Like Planet
PSR J2322-2650b orbits a pulsar every 7.8 hours, with an atmosphere rich in helium and molecular carbon, featuring soot clouds and possible diamond formation.
- Using Webb's infrared instruments, researchers detected an exotic helium-and-carbon-dominated atmosphere on PSR J2322-2650b, a Jupiter-mass planet tidally distorted into a lemon shape by its pulsar host.
- Because the pulsar emits little infrared, JWST's $10 billion design and cold orbit about a million miles from Earth enabled a pristine atmospheric spectrum.
- At just around 1 million miles, PSR J2322-2650b's spectrum shows molecular carbon C3 and C2, with dayside at 3,700 F .
- Scientists say the composition appears to rule out every known formation mechanism, and team leader Michael Zhang said, `This is a new type of planet atmosphere that nobody has ever seen before,` prompting surprise from the discovery team.
- Scientists are considering hypotheses such as formation by stripping in black widow systems and interior crystallization mixing carbon crystals into helium, while Maya Beleznay notes the unique geometry allows detailed study as the pulsar is invisible in infrared.
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Scientists spot strange lemon-like planet
Astronomers said planet PSR J2322-2650b appears to have an exotic helium-and-carbon-dominated atmosphere unlike any ever seen before.
Using the James Webb Space Telescope, a research team has observed a Jupiter-sized exoplanet orbiting a pulsar – and therefore shaped like a lemon. But that's not even the strange thing about the discovery.read more on t3n.de
The James Webb space telescope made observations that open up new questions about how some planets originate outside the solar system. Measurements allowed to identify an atmospheric composition that does not coincide with what is expected in objects of this type. The result led researchers to rethink the usual explanations about how certain planetary systems are formed. Below, the characteristics of the object observed are detailed and why its …
PSR J2322-2650b orbits a pulsar and can therefore be researched particularly closely. Its composition cannot be explained at present.
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