exoplanets<\/a> exhibit these characteristics due to their close proximity to their host stars, which also means their orbit around these stars takes as little as one to two days. This gives these planets unique and exotic features, such as iron rain on WASP-76 b.<\/p>\nEven so, the team were surprised to discover barium, which is 2.5 times heavier than iron, in the upper atmospheres of the planets. \u201cGiven the high gravity of the planets, we would expect heavy elements like barium to quickly fall into the lower layers of the atmosphere,\u201d explained Olivier Demangeon, a researcher from the University of Porto and IA.<\/p>\n
Silva added: \u201cThis was, in a way, an \u2018accidental\u2019 discovery. We were not expecting or looking for barium in particular, and had to cross-check that this was actually coming from the planet since it had never been seen in any exoplanet before.\u201d<\/p>\n
Determining the composition of an exoplanet\u2019s atmosphere<\/h3>\n The fact that barium was detected in both WASP-76 b and WASP-121 b suggests that their atmospheres may be stranger than astronomers originally thought. On Earth, barium is occasionally seen in the sky through fireworks; however, scientists want to determine what causes the natural presence of barium at high altitudes.<\/p>\n
\u200b\u200b<\/em>In the study of exoplanet atmospheres, ultra-hot Jupiters are extremely useful. Demangeon stated: \u201cAt the moment, we are not sure what the mechanisms are. Being gaseous and hot, their atmospheres are very extended, and are thus easier to observe and study than those of smaller or cooler planets.\u201d<\/p>\nHowever, determining the composition of an exoplanet\u2019s atmosphere requires very specialised equipment. The team used the ESPRESSO instrument on ESO\u2019s VLT in Chile, analysing starlight that had been filtered through the atmospheres of the two planets.<\/p>\n
Through this study, the researchers were able to clearly detect several elements in them, including barium. The new results show that astronomers have only scratched the surface when it comes to studying exoplanets.<\/p>\n
Future instruments, such as the high-resolution ArmazoNes High Dispersion Echelle Spectograph (ANDES), will operate on ESO\u2019s upcoming Extremely Large Telescope. By doing this, astronomers will be able to study the atmospheres of exoplanets, both large and small, including those with a similar composition to Earth.<\/p>\n
In the future, scientists may be able to gather more clues about the nature of these strange worlds.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Astronomers have discovered barium in the atmosphere of two exoplanets – the heaviest element ever found outside our Solar System.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":26253,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[771],"tags":[818,809],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Astronomers find barium in exoplanet atmospheres<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n