'212 light years away': James Webb Telescope discovers uneven atmosphere on the super-puff exoplanet WASP-107b
Produced by: Tarun Mishra
Exoplanet WASP-107b Observed
WASP-107, a K-type main sequence star located about 212 light-years away in Virgo, hosts WASP-107b, an unusually low-density exoplanet dubbed a "super-puff" or "cotton-candy" planet. The planet was first discovered in 2017 and has unique atmospheric characteristics.
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Close Proximity to Host Star
WASP-107b orbits its star very closely, completing one orbit every 5.7 days—16 times closer than Earth is to the Sun. Despite its proximity, the planet’s atmosphere remains relatively cool at around 500°C (932°F), which is attributed to tidal heating from its slightly non-circular orbit.
First Detection of East-West Asymmetry
For the first time, astronomers have observed east-west asymmetry in the atmosphere of an exoplanet. This refers to differences in temperature or cloud properties between the planet’s eastern and western hemispheres.
Importance of Asymmetry Detection
Understanding whether east-west asymmetry exists is critical for gaining insights into the climate, weather patterns, and atmospheric dynamics of exoplanets, helping to model planetary atmospheres more accurately.
Transmission Spectroscopy with Webb
The NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope was used to capture this asymmetry through transmission spectroscopy, a technique that analyzes how starlight filters through an exoplanet’s atmosphere during transit.
Significance of Space-Based Observations
Matthew Murphy, a graduate student at Steward Observatory, noted that this marks the first time exoplanet asymmetry has been directly observed from space. He emphasized the advantages space observations offer over ground-based methods.
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Unique Insights into Exoplanet Atmospheres
Dr. Thomas Beatty, an astronomer from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, pointed out that this is the first direct observation of atmospheric asymmetries on an exoplanet. Previous studies had only theorized what exoplanet atmospheres might look like.
Credit: thomasgbeatty.org
Future Observations Planned
The research team is planning further observations of WASP-107b to better understand the forces driving the atmospheric asymmetry. The findings were published in Nature Astronomy and open up new paths for studying exoplanet weather and climate systems.