Exoplanet VHS 1256 b, around 40 light-years away, has an unusual atmosphere where clouds of sand float in temperatures of 1,500 degrees Fahrenheit.
One of the most exciting things about the James Webb Space Telescope is that not only can it detect exoplanets, but it can even peer into their atmospheres to see what they are composed of. Understanding exoplanet atmospheres will help us to find potentially habitable worlds, but it will also turn up some fascinating oddities — like a recent finding of an exoplanet with an atmosphere full of gritty, sand clouds.
Related Videos Astronomers were able to get an excellent view of the planet because instead of orbiting one star like the planets in our solar system, this planet orbits a pair of stars and it takes 10,000 years to complete a full orbit. That means it is far away from the light of its stars, so it is easier for astronomers to see the planet’s relatively dim reflected light.
Sand clouds are unusual, but not unheard of when it comes to exoplanets. In this case, the gritty clouds are located up high in the planet’s atmosphere, where temperatures reach an incredible 1,500 degrees Fahrenheit. The planet has low gravity as well, allowing the clouds of both larger and smaller grains to float high in the atmosphere.
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