Webb's data enabled astronomers to calculate the core mass of a distant exoplanet for the first time.
The James Webb space telescope has provided the first glimpse of the interior of the cotton candy-like planet WASP-107 b, about 200 light-years away from Earth.
“Looking into the interior of a planet hundreds of light-years away sounds almost impossible, but when you know the mass, radius, atmospheric composition, and hotness of its interior, you’ve got all the pieces you need to get an idea of what’s inside and how heavy that core is,” said David Sing, lead author and a Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Johns Hopkins University. The researchers discovered that WASP-107 b has a 12 times more massive core than Earth’s.
“We think this heat is causing the chemistry of the gases to change, specifically destroying methane and making elevated amounts of carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide,” explained Rustamkulov, who co-led the research. However, its unique properties provide key clues about planetary evolution and the dynamics of distant atmospheres.Despite its massive size, WASP-107 b is surprisingly light. It is regarded as one of the least dense planets discovered.
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