Through the Hubble Space Telescope of NASA, scientists were able to spot and detect an enormous planet located outside the solar system which also contains a hot glowing atmosphere. It was reported that its atmosphere is hot enough to boil an iron.
The said exoplanet was named WAP-121b and it was an international team of researchers led by the University of Exeter which made the new discovery. The researchers observed the glowing water molecules in the atmosphere of the said planet through the Hubble Space Telescope.
With the help of the spectroscopy, PHYS ORG reported that the researchers were able to study the giant stratosphere of the exoplanets. They were also able to analyze the brightness of the said planet which changed at different and varied wavelengths of light. It was then observed that the water vapor in the atmosphere of the planet moves in predictable ways in order to respond to the different wavelengths of the light.
However, in cooler temperatures, the water vapor in the planet's upper atmosphere blocks the light of specific wavelengths which come from deeper layers towards space. Meanwhile, in higher temperatures, these water molecules glow at the same wavelengths instead. This occurrence has been compared to what happens with fireworks which gain their colors from the chemicals that produce light.
When looking at the water molecules of the exoplanets, the researchers observed that it similarly emit radiation as they lose energy. However, this energy is not in the form of infrared light which the eyes cannot detect. With his, it was claimed that the stratosphere might have a special class of extra-hot exoplanets. In the case of WASP-121b, it was suggested that it has a strong stratosphere.
Reports claimed that the WASP-121b is a gas giant exoplanets which is located 900 light years from Earth. It was added that the said exoplanet was commonly called as a hot Jupiter but with a greater mass than Jupiter. The top of its atmosphere is also heated to 2,500 degrees Celsius which is comparable to the temperature in which iron is in its gas form.
The researchers likewise shared that the change in temperatures within the stratosphere in the solar system is only below 100 degrees Celsius. But for WASP-121b exoplanets, its temperature in the stratosphere escalates by 1000 Celsius.
