Abu Dhabi scientists help discover exoplanet atmospheres as part of James Webb Space Telescope mission

While previous observations detected isolated components of the hot planet’s atmosphere, the new readings provide a full menu of atoms, molecules, and even active chemistry and Cloud signs.

JWST sees the universe in infrared light, at the red end of the spectrum beyond what the human eye can see. This allows the telescope to pick up the fingerprints of molecular species that cannot be detected under visible light.

As WASP-39 b passes in front of its host star, it has been observed to capture starlight passing through the planet’s atmosphere in this way. Different molecular species present in the planet’s atmosphere absorb different parts of the star’s light, revealing the rich chemical background of the planet’s envelope.

“Before any data cleaning, the clarity of the observations from these instruments was astounding! The raw data looked beautiful, as if we had done the heavy lifting of reducing noise and instrument errors, as we used to do with Spi Molecular signatures are evident from the first glance, as is done with the CE and Hubble telescopes,” said Blecic, who is also part of the UAE’s only exoplanet atmosphere research team led by Ian Dobbs-Dixon.

The findings bode well for the JWST instrument’s ability to survey smaller, rocky exoplanets, which the science team is hoping for. The series of new findings is detailed in a set of five new scientific papers Blecic co-authored, which will be published this month in the journal Nature. One of the remarkable discoveries was the first detection of sulfur dioxide, a molecule produced by chemical reactions triggered by high-energy photons from a planet’s star, in the atmosphere of an exoplanet. On Earth, the protective ozone layer forms in a similar way.

“This is the first time we’ve seen concrete evidence of photochemistry on an exoplanet,” said Shangmin Cai, a researcher at the University of Oxford and author of a paper explaining the source of sulfur dioxide in the atmosphere of WASP-39 b.

“It’s also the first time we’ve had to incorporate higher-level physics into our models so we can interpret the data,” Blecic added.

The resulting modeling improvements will help explain potential signs of life in the future when we observe smaller, potentially habitable Earth-sized planets. However, WASP-39 b has an estimated temperature of 1,600 degrees Fahrenheit or 900 degrees Celsius, and its atmosphere is composed mostly of hydrogen, making it uninhabitable.

Other atmospheric components detected by JWST included sodium, potassium and water vapor, confirming previous observations, as well as other water signatures at longer wavelengths that had never been seen before.

“Again we’re seeing, now confirmed with multiple JWST instruments, carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is ubiquitous in our solar system. It’s also the most abundant chemical in Earth’s atmosphere, but habitable planets like Venus and Mars sit with Earth in our The boundary of the Sun’s habitable zone. Thus, the first undisputed detection of this molecule in the atmosphere of an exoplanet opens up new frontiers for future JWST observations of planets within the habitable zone of their host star, as it will allows us to distinguish between habitable worlds and habitable worlds,” Blecic said.

The latest data also hint at how the clouds on WASP-39 b might look like when viewed up close: mottled, fragmented cloud structures like those on Earth, rather than the single, uniform cloud covering the entire planet that we see on Venus. overlay.

Having such a complete inventory of ingredients in an exoplanet’s atmosphere also gives scientists a glimpse into how this planet, and perhaps others, formed. WASP-39 b’s chemical inventory suggests its formation far away from its host star, and a history of smaller objects called planetesimals smashing up and merging, eventually forming a giant planet.

Capturing such an extensive portion of WASP-39 b’s atmosphere is a masterpiece of science. The international team numbered the data from hundreds of independent analyses, while making detailed intercomparisons of their findings, resulting in additional scientific results.

“These major discoveries, revealed from single-target observations, demonstrate the performance of the JWST instrument far beyond scientists’ expectations, opening an exciting avenue for future observations and unlocking the enormous diversity of exoplanets in our galaxy A new era of exploration,” Blasic said.