All articles tagged with #wasp 17b
A new study suggests that sun dog-like optical effects could occur on distant exoplanets like WASP-17b, a hot Jupiter, where high-speed winds might align tiny quartz crystals in the atmosphere, creating dazzling light displays detectable by the James Webb Space Telescope.
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has detected quartz crystals in the atmosphere of the exoplanet WASP-17b. The planet, which is incredibly close to its star and has a scorching hot atmosphere, experiences thousand-mile-per-hour winds that carry tiny quartz crystals. This discovery was unexpected, as previous observations had detected more complex magnesium-rich crystals. The presence of quartz suggests that these crystals are the building blocks for larger silicate grains found in cooler exoplanets. The findings were published in Astrophysical Journal Letters.