HEIC: Hubble Observes Pitch Black Planet (WASP-12b)

Find out the latest thinking about our universe.
Post Reply
User avatar
bystander
Apathetic Retiree
Posts: 21571
Joined: Mon Aug 28, 2006 2:06 pm
Location: Oklahoma

HEIC: Hubble Observes Pitch Black Planet (WASP-12b)

Post by bystander » Thu Sep 14, 2017 3:49 pm

Hubble Observes Pitch Black Planet
ESA Hubble Science Release | 2017 Sep 14
[img3="The Pitch-Black Exoplanet WASP-12b -- Credit: NASA, ESA, and G. Bacon (STScI)"]https://cdn.spacetelescope.org/archives ... c1714a.jpg[/img3][hr][/hr]
Astronomers have discovered that the well-studied exoplanet WASP-12b reflects almost no light, making it appear essentially pitch black. This discovery sheds new light on the atmospheric composition of the planet and also refutes previous hypotheses about WASP-12b’s atmosphere. The results are also in stark contrast to observations of another similarly sized exoplanet.

Using the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) on the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, an international team led by astronomers at McGill University, Canada, and the University of Exeter, UK, have measured how much light the exoplanet WASP-12b reflects — its albedo — in order to learn more about the composition of its atmosphere ...

WASP-12b orbits the Sun-like star WASP-12A, about 1400 light-years away, and since its discovery in 2008 it has become one of the best studied exoplanets (opo1354, opo1015, opo1436, heic1524). With a radius almost twice that of Jupiter and a year of just over one Earth day, WASP-12b is categorised as a hot Jupiter. Because it is so close to its parent star, the gravitational pull of the star has stretched WASP-12b into an egg shape and raised the surface temperature of its daylight side to 2600 degrees Celsius. ...

Hubble Captures Blistering Pitch-Black Planet
NASA | STScI | HubbleSite | 2017 Sep 14

Alien world traps most of the visible light falling into its atmosphere

Don't go looking for the proverbial black cat eating licorice in a coal bin on the planet WASP-12b. Twice the size of any planet found in our solar system, the world is as black as fresh asphalt. Unlike other planets in its class, WASP-12b has the unique capability to trap at least 94 percent of the visible starlight falling into its atmosphere.

The temperature of the atmosphere is a seething 4,600 degrees Fahrenheit, which prevents the formation of reflective clouds on the day side. The planet orbits so close to its host that it is tidally locked, which means that it keeps the same side always facing the star.

The exoplanet isn't dining alone. Its host star is also having a feast: gobbling up material swirling off the exoplanet's super-heated atmosphere.

This oddball exoplanet is one of a class of so-called "hot Jupiters" that orbit very close to their host star and are heated to extreme temperatures. WASP-12b circles a Sun-like star 1,400 light-years from Earth.

The Very Low Albedo of WASP-12b from Spectral Eclipse Observations with Hubble - Taylor J. Bell et al
http://asterisk.apod.com/viewtopic.php?p=273021#p273021
http://asterisk.apod.com/viewtopic.php?t=23474
http://asterisk.apod.com/viewtopic.php?t=22235
Know the quiet place within your heart and touch the rainbow of possibility; be
alive to the gentle breeze of communication, and please stop being such a jerk.
— Garrison Keillor

Post Reply