What sights could an exoplanet’s atmosphere create that would mimic Earth’s own visual wonders? This is what a recent study published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters hopes to address as a team of scientists investigated the atmospheric visual phenomena from crystals that could be created from strong winds. This study has the potential to help scientists better understand the visual aspects of exoplanets, which could shed light on their atmospheric compositions and evolutionary patterns.
For the study, the researchers examined WASP-17b, which is a “hot Jupiter” located approximately 1,324 light-years from Earth, specifically focusing on the alignment of atmospheric quartz crystals with strong winds, which are estimated to be 10 nanometers in diameter and from 1 to 5 kilometers per second, respectively.
The idea for this study happened when the researchers used NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to observe WASP-17b in 2023, with the researchers discovering quartz nanocrystals. They then asked how these nanocrystals could interact with WASP-17b’s atmosphere. In the end, the researchers found that these nanocrystals and strong winds could be aligned, opening doors to better understanding exoplanet atmosphere formation and evolution.
“Other than being pretty, these effects can teach us about how crystals are interacting in the atmosphere," said Elijah Mullens, who is a PhD student at Cornell University and lead author of the study. "It’s really information-rich, just as on Earth where the atmospheric conditions need to be a certain way for them to be horizontally oriented to produce a sun dog. If we see something similar in a hot Jupiter, we can be able to tell something about how the crystals are interacting with local forces.”
What new insights into exoplanet atmospheres and visual phenomena will researchers make in the coming years and decades? Only time will tell, and this is why we science!
As always, keep doing science & keep looking up!
Sources: The Astrophysical Journal Letters, EurekAlert!, NASA
Featured Image: Artist's illustration of WASP-17b. (Credit: ESA/Hubble)