Vocabulary:
- light-year /LAHYT-yeer/
- classify /KLAS-uh-fahy/
- revolve /ri-VOLV/
- exoplanet /EK-soh-plan-it/
- dissipate /DIS-uh-peyt/
[noun] the great distance that light travels in one year
The nearest star to Earth is about 4 light-years away.
[verb] to divide things into groups according to type
One movie is classified as pure art, the other as entertainment.
[verb] to move in a circle or a curve around a central point
The earth revolves on its axis and around the sun.
[noun] a planet of a star that is outside the solar system
Because the newfound exoplanet orbits so close to its star, it’s gravitationally locked to the smaller body.
[verb] to disappeared gradually, or to cause something to disappear gradually
He tossed it in the air, and it dissipated into sparkles that floated upward.
Astronomers discover “heavy metal” planet shaped like a football located 900 light-years from Earth. The planet’s upper atmosphere reaches a blazing 4,600 Farenheight which is 10 times hotter than any other planets. Observations by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope show heavy metals streaming outside our solar system known as WASP-121b. According to scientists, the high temperature of the atmosphere causes these heavy metals to escape as gases. The planet is classified as “hot-Jupiters” – gas colossal exoplanets that rotate excessively close to their host star. Hot Jupiter-sized planets are usually cold enough to curtail heavy elements like magnesium and iron into clouds. But that’s not the case with WASP-121b, which is revolving so close to its star that its upper atmosphere reaches a 4,600 degrees Fahrenheit.
David Sing, lead author of the study from Hopkins University says, “Heavy metals have been seen in other hot Jupiters before, but only in the lower atmosphere, so you don’t know if they are escaping or not.” The researchers used the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph to look at the ultraviolet light of magnesium and iron attached to the starlight passing through WASP-121b’s atmosphere. This phenomenon occurs while the exoplanet passes in front of or travels to the face of its home star. The WASP-121b study is part of a Hubble’s program that focuses on a comparative view of the exoplanets’ atmosphere. The observations of WASP-121b contribute to the expanding story of how the planets’ primordial atmospheres lose. The formation of planets occurs once they gather an atmosphere with gas. The atmospheres basically consist of elements that can be found in the universe such as hydrogen and helium. The atmosphere vanishes once a planet moves closer to its star. Sing added, “But in the case of WASP-121b, the hydrogen and helium gas is outflowing, almost like a river, and is dragging these metals with them. It’s a very efficient mechanism for mass loss.”
David Sing, lead author of the study from Hopkins University says, “Heavy metals have been seen in other hot Jupiters before, but only in the lower atmosphere, so you don’t know if they are escaping or not.” The researchers used the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph to look at the ultraviolet light of magnesium and iron attached to the starlight passing through WASP-121b’s atmosphere. This phenomenon occurs while the exoplanet passes in front of or travels to the face of its home star. The WASP-121b study is part of a Hubble’s program that focuses on a comparative view of the exoplanets’ atmosphere. The observations of WASP-121b contribute to the expanding story of how the planets’ primordial atmospheres lose. The formation of planets occurs once they gather an atmosphere with gas. The atmospheres basically consist of elements that can be found in the universe such as hydrogen and helium. The atmosphere vanishes once a planet moves closer to its star. Sing added, “But in the case of WASP-121b, the hydrogen and helium gas is outflowing, almost like a river, and is dragging these metals with them. It’s a very efficient mechanism for mass loss.”
True or False:
- Scientists discovered a new exoplanet.
- The WASP-121 is 900 light-years away from Earth.
- The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph is designed to recognize ultraviolet light from spectral signatures of magnesium and iron imprinted on starlight.
- The atmospheres consist mostly of the primordial, lighter-weight gases hydrogen, and helium.
- A planet loses its atmosphere as it moves closer to its star.
Discussion Questions:
- What is your opinion on the discovery of the new planet?
- What planet do you think is the most interesting? Please explain your answer.
- In your opinion, what planet could be a possible refuge for humans if the Earth dies?
- Why do you think it is necessary to study space?
- If you would make your own astronomical instrument to study space, what would it be?
Express Your Opinion:
- “The universe has a way of leading you to where you’re supposed to be at the moment you’re supposed to be there.” – Agent T from Men in Black movie
- “It’s not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves.” -William Shakespeare
- “And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.” – Paulo Coelho