The light from an alien world has been examined in more detail than any before, revealing the first detection of titanium oxide in any planet's atmosphere.
The planet WASP-19b, which is a similar size to Jupiter, is so close to its parent star that it completes an orbit in just 19 hours. It is far too hot for life to survive, but the detection is a huge step towards understanding exoplanets.
As WASP-19b, which lies 815 light years away, passes between its star and Earth, some of the light from the star interacts with planet’s atmosphere, leaving subtle signs in the signals that eventually reach Earth.
Analysing this light, researchers from the European Southern Observatory determined the planet’s atmosphere contains small amounts of titanium oxide, water and traces of sodium. The findings were published in Nature.
“Detecting such molecules is no simple feat,” says co-author Elyar Sedaghati. “Not only do we need data of exceptional quality, but we also need to perform a sophisticated analysis. We used an algorithm that explores many millions of spectra spanning a wide range of chemical compositions, temperatures, and cloud or haze properties in order to draw our conclusions.”
Titanium oxide is rarely seen on Earth, instead it is found in the atmospheres of the coolest stars. If it is present in the atmosphere of WASP-19b at high enough quantities, it will absorb heat and prevent it from escaping, creating an inferno.
The planet's atmosphere is estimated to have a temperature of about 2,000 degrees Celsius. “The presence of titanium oxide in the atmosphere of WASP-19b can have substantial effects on the atmospheric temperature structure and circulation,” says Ryan MacDonald, team member and an astronomer at Cambridge University. “To be able to examine exoplanets at this level of detail is promising and very exciting.” adds Nikku Madhusudhan from Cambridge University, who oversaw the interpretation of the observations.
The authors hope this study will lead the way to a better understanding of the atmospheres of other exoplanets by developing new models. Once astronomers can observe atmospheres of possibly habitable planets, these models will provide a basis for interpreting the observations.
The planet WASP-19b, which is a similar size to Jupiter, is so close to its parent star that it completes an orbit in just 19 hours. It is far too hot for life to survive, but the detection is a huge step towards understanding exoplanets.
As WASP-19b, which lies 815 light years away, passes between its star and Earth, some of the light from the star interacts with planet’s atmosphere, leaving subtle signs in the signals that eventually reach Earth.
Analysing this light, researchers from the European Southern Observatory determined the planet’s atmosphere contains small amounts of titanium oxide, water and traces of sodium. The findings were published in Nature.
“Detecting such molecules is no simple feat,” says co-author Elyar Sedaghati. “Not only do we need data of exceptional quality, but we also need to perform a sophisticated analysis. We used an algorithm that explores many millions of spectra spanning a wide range of chemical compositions, temperatures, and cloud or haze properties in order to draw our conclusions.”
Titanium oxide is rarely seen on Earth, instead it is found in the atmospheres of the coolest stars. If it is present in the atmosphere of WASP-19b at high enough quantities, it will absorb heat and prevent it from escaping, creating an inferno.
The planet's atmosphere is estimated to have a temperature of about 2,000 degrees Celsius. “The presence of titanium oxide in the atmosphere of WASP-19b can have substantial effects on the atmospheric temperature structure and circulation,” says Ryan MacDonald, team member and an astronomer at Cambridge University. “To be able to examine exoplanets at this level of detail is promising and very exciting.” adds Nikku Madhusudhan from Cambridge University, who oversaw the interpretation of the observations.
The authors hope this study will lead the way to a better understanding of the atmospheres of other exoplanets by developing new models. Once astronomers can observe atmospheres of possibly habitable planets, these models will provide a basis for interpreting the observations.