The James Webb Space Telescope has captured a detailed molecular and chemical portrait of a faraway planet's skies, for the exoplanet science community.
WASP-39b, otherwise known as Bocaprins, can be found orbiting a star some 700 light-years away. It is an exoplanet — a planet outside our solar system — as massive as Saturn but much closer to its host star, making for an estimated temperature of 1,600 degrees Fahrenheit (871 degrees Celsius) emitting from its gases, according to NASA. This "hot Saturn" when it first began its regular science operations.
The new readings provide a full breakdown of Bocaprins' atmosphere, including atoms, molecules, cloud formations (which appear to be broken up, rather than a single, uniform blanket as scientists previously expected) and even signs of photochemistry caused by its host star.
"We observed the exoplanet with multiple instruments that, together, provide a broad swath of the infrared spectrum and a panoply of chemical fingerprints inaccessible until (this mission)," said Natalie Batalha, an astronomer at the University of California, Santa Cruz, who contributed to and helped coordinate the new research, "Data like these are a game changer."
The new data provided the first sign in an exoplanet's atmosphere of sulfur dioxide, a molecule produced from chemical reactions triggered by the planet's host star and its high-energy light. On Earth, the atmosphere's protective ozone layer is created in a similar way from heat and sunlight in a photochemical reaction.
Bocaprins' close proximity to its host star makes it an ideal subject for studying such star-planet connections. The planet is eight times closer to its host star than Mercury is to our sun.
"This is the first time we have seen concrete evidence of photochemistry — chemical reactions initiated by energetic stellar light — on exoplanets," said Shang-Min Tsai, a researcher at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, in a NASA release. "I see this as a really promising outlook for advancing our understanding of exoplanet atmospheres."
Other compounds detected in Bocaprins' atmosphere include sodium, potassium and water vapour, confirming previous observations made by other space and ground-based telescopes, including the Hubble Space Telescope.
Having such a complete roster of chemical ingredients in an exoplanet atmosphere provides insight into how this planet — and perhaps others — formed. Bocaprins' diverse chemical inventory suggests that multiple smaller bodies, called planetesimals, had merged to create an eventual goliath of a planet, of similar size to the second-largest planet in our solar system.
"This is just the first out of many exoplanets that are going to be studied in detail by JWST. ... We are already getting very exciting results," Nestor Espinoza, an astronomer at the Space Telescope Science Institute, told CNN. "This is just the beginning."
The findings are favourable for suggesting the capability of Webb's instruments to conduct investigations on exoplanets. By revealing a detailed descriptor of an exoplanet's atmosphere, the telescope has performed beyond scientists' expectations and promises a new phase of exploration on the broad variety of exoplanets in the galaxy, according to NASA.
"We are going to be able to see the big picture of exoplanet atmospheres," said Laura Flagg, a researcher at Cornell University and a member of the international team that analyzed data from Webb, in a statement. "It is incredibly exciting to know that everything is going to be rewritten. That is one of the best parts of being a scientist."
A $2.14-billion federal loan for an Ottawa-based satellite operator has Canadian politicians arguing about whether American billionaire Elon Musk poses a national security risk.
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The British Columbia election campaign is set to officially start today, with Lt.-Gov. Janet Austin issuing the writ for the Oct. 19 vote.
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The British Columbia election campaign is set to officially start today, with Lt.-Gov. Janet Austin issuing the writ for the Oct. 19 vote.
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A northern Ontario man is facing a $12,000 fine after illegally shooting a moose near the Batchawan River.
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Donald Trump returned to North Carolina on Saturday, stumping in the southern battleground state with direct appeals to women, claiming he would be a better champion for them than U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, who is vying to become the first female president.
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The more Chelsea Walsh talked to the eccentric fellow American who seemed to pop up in every square and cobblestone street of Ukraine's capital, the more she got creeped out.
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The owner of the shuttered Three Mile Island nuclear power plant said Friday that it plans to restart the reactor under a 20-year agreement that calls for tech giant Microsoft to buy the power to supply its data centers with carbon-free energy.
Lebanese authorities on Thursday banned walkie-talkies and pagers from being taken on flights from Beirut airport, the National News Agency reported, after thousands of such devices exploded during a deadly attack on Hezbollah this week.
Kathryn Crosby, who appeared in such movies as 'The 7th Voyage of Sinbad', 'Anatomy of a Murder,' and 'Operation Mad Ball' before marrying famed singer and Oscar-winning actor Bing Crosby, has died. She was 90.fff
'Saturday Night Live' will have a slew of famous faces to help kick off its historic 50th season when the show returns later this month.
The death of the Tragically Hip’s lead singer Gord Downie united fans across Canada in their grief, but in many ways pulled his bandmates apart.
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The St. Clair College golf teams were successful at the Niagara Knights Invitational tournament on Friday.
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Despite the heavy rain, plenty of muscle turned up for United Way’s annual Pull the Bus fundraiser in Lethbridge Friday.
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The Lethbridge Hurricanes kicked off the 2024-25 season on a winning note Friday night, defeating the Edmonton Oil Kings 3-1 in a game played at VisitLethbridge.com Arena.
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A 16-year-old biennial event aimed at fostering business in the country's eastern Arctic and northern regions has been cancelled indefinitely as a dispute unfolds between Inuit in Canada and a Labrador group claiming to share their heritage.
Jim Lester’s farm hopped on the cow-cuddling trend in early August, and his time slots have been pretty well sold out ever since.
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