In a major find , research worker using the Hubble Space Telescope have seen the true color of a major planet outside our solar system . HD 189733b , as the gas giant is called , is blue . A deep , vivacious , Co downcast . And just wait til you find out why it ’s that color .
An outside team of researchers led by Oxford astrophysicist Tom Evans deduce the major planet ’s chromaticity by measuring the light source it reflect , a property known as albedo . To do so , the squad measured variation in light as it pass in front of and behind its parent star .
“ We saw the brightness of the whole system drop in the blue part of the spectrum when the planet elapse behind its champion , ” said Evans in a statement . “ From this , we can gather that the planet is blue , because the signaling remain constant at the other colors we measured . ”
From blank , HD 189773b looks a lot likeour ownpale blue superman . Previous inquiry even suggest thatsunsets on the satellite may look a bunch like those seen from here on Earth , its atmosphere tinted a hazy blusher by the last brightness level of a Sunday dip over the view . But unlike Earth , HD 189773b ’s sky-blue hue is thought to result not from the reflection of a tropic ocean , but its alien atmosphere .
https://gizmodo.com/nasas-latest-image-of-earth-is-impossibly-beautiful-5879221
Carl Sagan ’s “ Pale Blue Dot ” incur a arresting animated tribute
Evans and his team hypothesize that aura hold a layer of sodium that selectively absorbs red spark . But here ’s the real kicker : While temperature on the planet come up in at over 1,000 level Celsius on average , that number swings by as much as 260 degrees between day and dark . It is cerebrate that these dramatic fluctuations in temperature spark advance to 4,500 - mile - per - hour , planet - swing hint . Weirder still : those temperatures are such that silicates in its atmosphere are converted to small droplet of glass , and those droplets scatter blue light . The result , the researchers write , is a major planet that would seem to the bare centre “ a cryptic gloomy color at visible wavelength . ”
A gas colossus with 4,500 mph wind is cool . A gas monster with 4,500 mph shabu - confidential information is freak awesome . And it ’s blue ! Previous artist ’s rendition of HD 189773b depicted it as dark-brown , or red . Now we bonk better , and with more certainty than any exoplanet that ’s come before . That ’s just incredible .
“ This satellite has been studied well in the past tense , both by ourselves and other teams , ” said Frédéric Pont of the University of Exeter , atomic number 27 - source of the study and leader of the Hubble observing political program . “ But evaluate its coloring material is a real first . ”
The research worker ’ finding will appear in the August 1 issue of the journal Astrophysical Journal Letters . In the meantime , you’re able to reach the newspaper here .
[ ESA ]
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