THE PRESENCE OF BARIUM WAS SURPRISED DESPITE THE IRON STORM
However, despite the iron rain on WASP-76b, the study authors reported that they were surprised to discover barium, which is 2.5 times heavier than iron in the planets’ upper atmosphere. “Given the high gravity of the planets, we would expect heavy elements such as barium to quickly fall into the lower atmosphere,” said Olivier Demangeon of the University of Porto.
Silva said: “This was, in a sense, an ‘accidental’ discovery. We didn’t particularly expect to find barium. “This heavy element has never been found on any exoplanet before.”
