Astronomers find heavy elements in atmosphere exoplanets. Barium. This is the heaviest element ever found exoplanet.
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Illustration of the ultrathin Jupiter exoplanet. Credit: ESO / M. Grain Fairs
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In astronomy, heavy elements are elements heavier than hydrogen and helium. Barium (Ba) which is an alkaline earth metal with atomic number 56, is certainly a heavy element. Interestingly, barium was found on planets orbiting other stars.
Not just one planet, astronomers have found barium in the upper atmosphere of two exoplanet Jupiter ultrapanas! Not only that, the two planets orbit around two different stars. Exoplanets WASP-76 b and WASP-121 b.
Heavy element: Barium
Barium (Ba) is a soft, silvery alkaline earth metal with atomic number 56. On Earth, barium is not found as a free element because it is highly reactive. Therefore, barium can only be found when it is combined with other elements.
We can find barium in the atmosphere from industrial emissions from mining, refining, burning fossil fuels and increasing soil and dust in the air. Additionally, coal ash also contains varying amounts of barium. Most of the barium released into nature is of industrial origin and does not disperse easily. Meanwhile, in the atmosphere, barium can be found in the form of particulates or particles smaller than 2.5 microns.
Two exoplanets Jupiter Ultrapanas
Exoplanet WASP-76 b and WASP-121 b are two super-hot planets of Jupiter that orbit the star from a very close distance.
WASP-76 b orbits the star WASP-76 in the constellation of Pisces. Its mass is 0.92 masses of Jupiter, or nearly the equivalent of Jupiter and is 1.83 times the size of Jupiter. While WASP-121 b is a planet orbiting the star WASP-121 in the constellation Puppis which is 850 light years from Earth. This planet is 1.18 times as massive as Jupiter and nearly twice as massive as Jupiter.
Planet WASP-76 b orbits its parent star from a distance of 0.03 AU or 4.9 million km! Meanwhile, the planet WASP-121 b orbits from a distance of 0.0254 or 3.8 million km. Even closer than the WASP-76 b. The implication is that, being very close together, the two planets only need 1-2 days to surround their parent star.
WASP-76 b orbits the star in 1.8 days while WASP-121 b takes only 1.27 days to complete its orbit. Imagine if a year was just less than two days.
Being close to the star, the two planets not only quickly complete their orbits. Both were also incredibly hot. The temperature on planet WASP-76b varies from 2400 C. On this planet neutral iron can evaporate and iron vapor can condense up to 1400 ° C and produce iron rain. Planet WASP-121 b is slightly warmer than WASP-76 b. The temperature reaches 2500 C and neutral iron appears to be on this planet.
The existence of the two planets close to the star is a distinct advantage. Astronomers can more easily study the atmospheres of both. Furthermore, both are ultra-hot Jupiter planets. The dense or very elongated atmospheres of gas giant planets are easier to observe than the atmospheres of smaller, colder planets.
Exoplanet atmosphere
Illustration of the iron rain on the night side of exoplanet WASP-76b. Credit: ESO / M. Kornmesser
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Illustration of the iron rain on the night side of exoplanet WASP-76b. Credit: ESO / M. Kornmesser
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This atmospheric observation, of course, still uses the transit method. Astronomers compare the light spectra of stars without planets and when planets are in transit. This is because when the planet passes through the star, although the starlight is blocked, some of it passes through the atmosphere and is absorbed by the chemicals in the atmosphere. From this astronomers can find out what chemical components are in the planet’s atmosphere.
Observations in 2020 showed the presence of iron, hydrogen-helium cloud cover, titanium oxide and vanadium, on planet WASP-76 b. For WASP-121 b, observations from 2015 and 2020 show the presence of iron in the stratosphere, chromium, vanadium, magnesium, calcium, nickel, and ionized sodium atoms.
Barium in the atmosphere
Recent observations with the ESPRESSO instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) actually show the presence of barium, which is 2.5 times heavier than iron, in the upper atmosphere of WASP-76 b and WASP-121 b.
Something interesting. On a heavy planet like Jupiter, heavy elements like barium are expected to quickly fall into the lower atmosphere. In short, barium shouldn’t be in the upper atmosphere.
But actually barium is found in the upper atmospheres of two of Jupiter’s ultra-hot planets. And this also shows the possibility that this type of planet may be much stranger and more exotic than previously thought.
On Earth, we can see barium in the bright green color of fireworks burning brightly in the sky. But how can barium exist in the upper atmosphere? What natural processes can bring barium to such a high level?
The answer is that there is no mechanism that can answer this question.
But of course the astronomers don’t stop there. Further observations with high resolution tools such as ArmazoNes high dispersion Echelle spectrograph (ANDES) want mounted on the extremely large telescope (ELT) will provide further information to reveal the story of what is happening on the ultra-hot planet Jupiter. And it is hoped that in the future we will also be able to study the atmospheres of rocky planets like Earth.
