Hubble telescope observes a hot atmosphere

Thanks to one of the Hubble Space Telescope's instruments, the researchers differentiated the different layers that make up the atmosphere of an exoplanet. This is a very hot ' Jupiter ' near its star.

The extrasolar planet HD 209458b is a gas planet that circulates its star in 3.5 days at a distance of 7 million km - 10 times shorter than the distance between the Sun and Mercury.

Consequently, the planet's atmosphere evaporates and expands like a comet's tail. The Hubble telescope has made new observations that reveal the gases released from this outer atmosphere are similar to those released from pressure cookers.

American and French researchers from the Paris Institute of Astrophysics explained that this hydrogen layer is a transition zone through which the temperature rises from 725 ^° C to over 14,000 ^° C. Ultraviolet radiation is high due to The emitting star causes the atmosphere of planet HD 209458b to heat up and bulge like a balloon. The gas increased to a high temperature and escaped at a rate of 10,000 tons / second.

Hubble telescope measures the atmospheric structure of Extrasolar HD 209458b58b (Photo: Hubblesite.org)

By analyzing the light of the star traveling through planet HD 209458b's atmosphere, the researchers deduced the composition of the atmosphere. In most cases, extrasolar planets are detected through the disturbances they cause in the star's movement, but this does not reveal the composition of their atmosphere.

(Photo: Hubblesite.org)

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