NASA scientists from Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) developed a new recipe for baking the exoplanet atmosphere in a laboratory oven: take a glass of hydrogen, a pinch of carbon monoxide, irradiate the mixture with UV light and bake in an oven at 1200 degrees Celsius for 200 hours. And the resulting gas mixture can now be analyzed.
This study aims to simulate the atmospheres of hot Jupiters – gas planets, turning very close to the parent star. Temperatures in the upper layers of hot Jupiters can range from 500 to 2800 degrees Celsius, and these planets are continuously subjected to intense ultraviolet irradiation from the parent star.
Due to the large size and bright atmospheres, hot Jupiters can be studied using spectral methods in more detail than the planets of many other classes. However, until now, when studying the atmospheres of hot Jupiters, scientists cannot understand why fog forms in them, especially at high altitudes and in areas of low pressure, where the probability of cloud formation is significantly reduced.
To answer this question, a team of scientists from JPL led by Benjamin Fleury recreated the atmosphere of a hot jupiter in the laboratory, using a model mixture of hydrogen and 0.3 percent carbon monoxide (CO). The team heated this gas mixture to various temperatures not exceeding 1230 degrees Celsius. In this, the first series of experiments, the team did not observe the appearance of aerosols in the simulated atmosphere. However, after the introduction of the third component into the system — ultraviolet radiation affecting the artificial atmosphere for one week — significant amounts of mist were formed, which are fine particles of solids suspended in a gaseous medium. Thus, the study showed that UV radiation plays a large role in the formation of the atmosphere of hot Jupiter, the authors explained.
NASA scientists prepare the atmosphere of exoplanets in a laboratory furnace
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