Articles tagged with Gas Giants
Astronomers discovered a giant planet orbiting a dead star, WD1856b, and used NASA's James Webb Space Telescope to analyze its atmosphere. The study found the planet migrated toward its dead companion billions of years after the star died, surviving destruction through extreme heat.
Researchers have discovered daily cloud cycles on WASP-94A b, a Hot Jupiter planet, using data from the James Webb Space Telescope. The findings reveal different weather patterns on the morning and evening sides of the planet, with magnesium silicate clouds forming in the mornings and clearing up by nightfall. This breakthrough provide...
Researchers use NASA's James Webb Space Telescope to analyze light passing through a distant, temperate gas giant planet's atmosphere, revealing methane and potentially other gases. The study provides insights into planetary formation and evolution, and could improve understanding of Earth's atmosphere.
Researchers found that Jupiter's strong magnetic field created a cavity in its circumplanetary disk, which captured the largest four moons, including Ganymede. In contrast, Saturn's weaker magnetic field failed to form a cavity, resulting in only one large moon, Titan. This discovery provides insight into the formation of satellite sys...
The discovery of TOI-5205 b, a Jupiter-sized planet orbiting a four times more massive star than our Sun, reveals its atmosphere has fewer heavy elements than expected. The research suggests that the planet's interior and atmosphere are not mixing, resulting in a carbon-rich, oxygen-poor atmosphere.
Researchers have confirmed that giant planets like Saturn operate under a unique magnetospheric regime, with a shifted cusp location due to its rapid rotation. This discovery alters models of magnetic reconnection and high-energy particle acceleration, revealing new insights into Saturn's auroral activity.
Scientists found that a planet's interior composition, specifically the 'softness' of its vortex base, determines the formation of polar vortices. The study suggests that Saturn may have a harder interior than Jupiter, leading to a single massive polar vortex, while Jupiter's softer interior gives rise to multiple smaller vortices.
Researchers suggest that interstellar objects like 3I/ATLAS could become seeds for giant planets, solving a long-standing puzzle about their rarity. By capturing millions of these objects, planetary formation can be sped up, allowing gas giants to form within the lifetime of the planet-forming disc.
Astronomers used Gemini South and James Webb Space Telescope to detect silane in ancient brown dwarf's atmosphere, revealing how primordial formation impacts planet atmospheres. The discovery confirms understanding of gas giant cloud formation and offers insight into the composition of distant worlds.
Astronomers discovered a greedy white dwarf star consuming its closest celestial companion at an unprecedented rate. The study found that the super-dense white dwarf is burning brightly due to the mass transfer between the two stars, potentially leading to a massive explosion visible from Earth.
An international team of astronomers has found a giant planet, TOI-6894b, orbiting a tiny star, TOI-6894, which is smaller than expected to host such a massive planet. The discovery challenges the core accretion theory on planet formation.
The James Webb Space Telescope has captured its first direct images of carbon dioxide in a planet outside the solar system. The observations suggest that four giant planets formed like Jupiter and Saturn by slowly building solid cores, providing strong evidence for core accretion as their formation model.
Amateur astronomers, led by Dr. Steven Hill, used a simple analytical method to map ammonia and cloud heights in Jupiter's atmosphere. They found that the primary clouds are likely composed of ammonium hydrosulphide, not ammonia ice, due to photochemical reactions.
Ravit Helled received the 2024 Paolo Farinella Prize for her work on planetary interiors, proposing a dilute core structure that was later confirmed by mission data. Her research also explores giant planet formation and evolution, with international contributions to NASA and ESA missions.
The James Webb Space Telescope has identified six likely rogue worlds, including the lightest ever found with a dusty disk around it. These objects offer insights into how stars and planets form, suggesting that gas giants can form in disks around young stars.
Astronomers have imaged the coldest exoplanet ever detected using JWST, which agrees with models of planet evolution and solar system ages. The exoplanet orbits a super-Jupiter in the Epsilon Indi triple star system and has a mass six times that of Jupiter.
Researchers detected hydrogen sulfide in HD 189733 b's atmosphere using the James Webb Space Telescope, shedding light on sulfur's role in planetary formation. The study also measured oxygen and carbon levels, providing insights into how planets form and evolve.
The NASA TESS-Keck Survey catalog features 126 exotic planets with detailed measurements allowing for comparisons with our solar system. Several planets stand out as touchstones for deepening astronomers' understanding of planetary formation and evolution.
Astronomers confirm that chemical composition differences in binary stars can be traced back to the earliest stages of their formation. The study used precise spectrographic measurements to rule out two explanations and confirmed primordial inhomogeneities within the molecular cloud as the origin of the discrepancies.
Researchers have observed the atmospheres of seven hot Jupiters using NASA's CUTE spacecraft, revealing that some planets lose significant gas while others remain unchanged. The findings suggest a combination of planetary size and stellar activity plays a role in atmospheric escape. CUTE's precise measurements provide valuable insights...
New studies show that giant gas planets in nearby star systems can prevent life on smaller, rocky planet neighbors by kicking them out of orbit and wreaking havoc on their climates. Researchers found that four giant planets in the HD 141399 system are likely to destroy the chances for life on Earth-like planets.
Saturn's north pole is experiencing a cooling trend as autumn approaches, with the warm polar vortex filled with hydrocarbon gases disappearing. The new observations provide insights into the changing seasons on the massive outer planet, using data from the James Webb Space Telescope.
Researchers have discovered an unusual Jupiter-sized exoplanet, TOI-4860 b, orbiting a low-mass star in the Corvus constellation. The planet is enriched with heavy elements and takes about 1.52 days to complete its orbit, making it a 'Warm Jupiter'.
A new study has captured the early stages of planetary evolution, observing a young gas planet's violent and erratic atmospheric shedding. The research, led by Dartmouth researchers, provides insights into the most common experiences of planets beyond our solar system.
A team of astrophysicists and citizen scientists have identified three potentially habitable exoplanets discovered during NASA's Kepler space telescope's final days of operation. The planets, including K2-416 b and K2-417 b, are between the size of Earth and Neptune and orbit their stars closely.
The discovery of TOI-5205b, a Jupiter-sized gas giant, contradicts the current understanding of planet formation. The planet's existence raises questions about the role of rocky material in forming massive cores and its potential to form gas giants despite these guardrails.
Researchers discovered a Neptune-sized planet around a bright blue star, shedding light on the dearth of Hot Neptunes. The planet's proximity to its star makes it susceptible to stripping of its gas, but it may survive for a billion years.
Dr Henrik Melin, a researcher at the University of Leicester, has been awarded the third-ever Webb Fellowship to study the atmospheres of giant planets using the James Webb Space Telescope. He aims to understand the mechanisms driving powerful aurorae on these planets and address the 'energy crisis' in their upper atmospheres.
A team of scientists measured the masses of two young giant planets in a 20 million-year-old system, finding they reached their final size at an early stage of evolution. This challenges current models, suggesting that giant planets can contract and mature rapidly.
Researchers identified a potential circumtriple planet in the star system GW Ori, with implications for our understanding of planet formation. The discovery, made using ALMA telescope observations, suggests that planet formation may be more active than previously thought.
A giant exoplanet has been found orbiting a small star, GJ 3512, which is unusual because low-mass stars should have less material to form planets. The discovery was made using the Doppler technique and suggests the presence of another massive planet that may have been ejected from the system.