* . *
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact
Friday, July 18, 2025
Earth-News
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    Theater at Santa Fe’s San Isidro Plaza will be converted into IMAX, family entertainment venue – Santa Fe New Mexican

    Santa Fe’s San Isidro Plaza Theater Transforms into Exciting IMAX Family Entertainment Venue

    B&B Theatres will open massive entertainment complex in Texas – The Business Journals

    B&B Theatres will open massive entertainment complex in Texas – The Business Journals

    Rough times for broadcast networks illustrate changing media landscape – New Haven Register

    Broadcast Networks Confront Turbulent Times in a Rapidly Changing Media Landscape

    Black River Entertainment Adds Traci Hite As Director Of Promotion, Southeast – MusicRow.com

    Black River Entertainment Welcomes Traci Hite as New Director of Southeast Promotion

    Entertainment Business Master’s Grad Launched Nonprofit to Nurture Emerging Artists – Full Sail University

    Entertainment Business Master’s Grad Launched Nonprofit to Nurture Emerging Artists – Full Sail University

    Review: At the Huntington, the New Hollywood String Quartet recalls legendary studio musicians – Los Angeles Times

    Review: At the Huntington, the New Hollywood String Quartet recalls legendary studio musicians – Los Angeles Times

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology
    A major AI training data set contains millions of examples of personal data – MIT Technology Review

    A major AI training data set contains millions of examples of personal data – MIT Technology Review

    Simpson College to purchase medical simulation technology with grant funds – Iowa Capital Dispatch

    Simpson College to purchase medical simulation technology with grant funds – Iowa Capital Dispatch

    SailGP Technologies officially launches new center of excellence in technology & innovation – Sail-World.com

    SailGP Technologies officially launches new center of excellence in technology & innovation – Sail-World.com

    Victorville’s new gunfire-detecting technology already making strides, city says – NBC Los Angeles

    Victorville’s New Gunfire-Detecting Technology Is Already Making a Difference, City Officials Say

    Guest columnist: China cutting corners on technology – The State Journal

    China’s Rapid Tech Advances Spark Worries About Cutting Corners

    Sentrycs’ Cyber Over RF technology integrated into Rafael’s combat-proven Drone Dome system – Defence Industry Europe

    Sentrycs’ Cyber Over RF Technology Boosts Rafael’s Battle-Tested Drone Dome System

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    Theater at Santa Fe’s San Isidro Plaza will be converted into IMAX, family entertainment venue – Santa Fe New Mexican

    Santa Fe’s San Isidro Plaza Theater Transforms into Exciting IMAX Family Entertainment Venue

    B&B Theatres will open massive entertainment complex in Texas – The Business Journals

    B&B Theatres will open massive entertainment complex in Texas – The Business Journals

    Rough times for broadcast networks illustrate changing media landscape – New Haven Register

    Broadcast Networks Confront Turbulent Times in a Rapidly Changing Media Landscape

    Black River Entertainment Adds Traci Hite As Director Of Promotion, Southeast – MusicRow.com

    Black River Entertainment Welcomes Traci Hite as New Director of Southeast Promotion

    Entertainment Business Master’s Grad Launched Nonprofit to Nurture Emerging Artists – Full Sail University

    Entertainment Business Master’s Grad Launched Nonprofit to Nurture Emerging Artists – Full Sail University

    Review: At the Huntington, the New Hollywood String Quartet recalls legendary studio musicians – Los Angeles Times

    Review: At the Huntington, the New Hollywood String Quartet recalls legendary studio musicians – Los Angeles Times

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology
    A major AI training data set contains millions of examples of personal data – MIT Technology Review

    A major AI training data set contains millions of examples of personal data – MIT Technology Review

    Simpson College to purchase medical simulation technology with grant funds – Iowa Capital Dispatch

    Simpson College to purchase medical simulation technology with grant funds – Iowa Capital Dispatch

    SailGP Technologies officially launches new center of excellence in technology & innovation – Sail-World.com

    SailGP Technologies officially launches new center of excellence in technology & innovation – Sail-World.com

    Victorville’s new gunfire-detecting technology already making strides, city says – NBC Los Angeles

    Victorville’s New Gunfire-Detecting Technology Is Already Making a Difference, City Officials Say

    Guest columnist: China cutting corners on technology – The State Journal

    China’s Rapid Tech Advances Spark Worries About Cutting Corners

    Sentrycs’ Cyber Over RF technology integrated into Rafael’s combat-proven Drone Dome system – Defence Industry Europe

    Sentrycs’ Cyber Over RF Technology Boosts Rafael’s Battle-Tested Drone Dome System

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
Earth-News
No Result
View All Result
Home Science

Why is Cotton-Candy Exoplanet WASP-107b So Puffy?

May 20, 2024
in Science
Why is Cotton-Candy Exoplanet WASP-107b So Puffy?
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

A surprisingly low amount of methane and a super-sized core hide within WASP-107b, a super-Neptune exoplanet approximately 212 light-years away in the constellation of Virgo, according to two new papers published in the journal Nature.

This artist’s concept shows what the exoplanet WASP-107b could look like based on recent data gathered by the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope along with previous observations from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and other observatories. Image credit: NASA / ESA / CSA / Ralf Crawford, STScI.

This artist’s concept shows what the exoplanet WASP-107b could look like based on recent data gathered by the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope along with previous observations from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and other observatories. Image credit: NASA / ESA / CSA / Ralf Crawford, STScI.

WASP-107 is a highly active K-type main sequence star located about 212 light-years away in the constellation of Virgo.

First discovered in 2017, WASP-107b is one of the least dense exoplanets known — a type that astrophysicists have dubbed ‘super-puff’ or ‘cotton-candy’ planets.

The planet orbits very close to the star — over 16 times closer than the Earth is to the Sun — once every 5.7 days.

It has one of the coolest atmospheres of any of the exoplanets discovered, although at 500 degrees Celsius (932 degrees Fahrenheit) is still radically hotter that Earth.

The high temperature is thought to be a result of tidal heating caused by the planet’s slightly non-circular orbit, and can explain how WASP-107b can be so inflated without resorting to extreme theories of how it formed.

“Based on its radius, mass, age, and assumed internal temperature, we thought WASP-107b had a very small, rocky core surrounded by a huge mass of hydrogen and helium,” said Arizona State University’s Dr. Luis Welbanks, lead author of the first paper.

“But it was hard to understand how such a small core could sweep up so much gas, and then stop short of growing fully into a Jupiter-mass planet.”

“If WASP-107b instead has more of its mass in the core, the atmosphere should have contracted as the planet cooled over time since it formed.”

“Without a source of heat to re-expand the gas, the planet should be much smaller.”

“WASP-107b is such an interesting target for Webb because it’s significantly cooler and more Neptune-like in mass than many of the other low-density planets, the hot Jupiters, we’ve been studying,” said Johns Hopkins University’s Dr. David Sing, lead author of the second paper.

“As a result, we should be able to detect methane and other molecules that can give us information about its chemistry and internal dynamics that we can’t get from a hotter planet.”

WASP-107b’s giant radius, extended atmosphere, and edge-on orbit make it ideal for transmission spectroscopy, a method used to identify the various gases in an exoplanet atmosphere based on how they affect starlight.

Combining observations from Webb’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) and Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI), and Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3), Dr. Welbanks and colleagues were able to build a broad spectrum of 0.8- to 12.2-micron light absorbed by WASP-107b’s atmosphere.

Using Webb’s Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec), Dr. Sing and colleagues built an independent spectrum covering 2.7 to 5.2 microns.

The precision of the data makes it possible to not just detect, but actually measure the abundances of a wealth of molecules, including water vapor, methane, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and ammonia.

Both spectra show a surprising lack of methane in WASP-107b’s atmosphere: one-thousandth the amount expected based on its assumed temperature.

“This is evidence that hot gas from deep in the planet must be mixing vigorously with the cooler layers higher up,” Dr. Sing said.

“Methane is unstable at high temperatures. The fact that we detected so little, even though we did detect other carbon-bearing molecules, tells us that the interior of the planet must be significantly hotter than we thought.”

A likely source of WASP-107b’s extra internal energy is tidal heating caused by its slightly elliptical orbit.

With the distance between the star and planet changing continuously over the 5.7-day orbit, the gravitational pull is also changing, stretching the planet and heating it up.

Astronomers had previously proposed that tidal heating could be the cause of WASP-107b’s puffiness, but until the Webb results were in, there was no evidence.

Once they established that the planet has enough internal heat to thoroughly churn up the atmosphere, the researchers realized that the spectra could also provide a new way to estimate the size of the core.

“If we know how much energy is in the planet, and we know what proportion of the planet is heavier elements like carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and sulfur, versus how much is hydrogen and helium, we can calculate how much mass must be in the core,” said Johns Hopkins University’s Dr. Daniel Thorngren.

“It turns out that the core is at least twice as massive as originally estimated, which makes more sense in terms of how planets form.”

“All together, WASP-107b is not as mysterious as it once appeared.”

“The Webb data tells us that planets like WASP-107b didn’t have to form in some odd way with a super small core and a huge gassy envelope,” said Arizona State University’s Dr. Mike Line.

“Instead, we can take something more like Neptune, with a lot of rock and not as much gas, just dial up the temperature, and poof it up to look the way it does.”

_____

L. Welbanks et al. A high internal heat flux and large core in a warm Neptune exoplanet. Nature, published online May 20, 2024; doi: 10.1038/s41586-024-07514-w

D.K. Sing et al. A warm Neptune’s methane reveals core mass and vigorous atmospheric mixing. Nature, published online May 20, 2024; doi: 10.1038/s41586-024-07395-z

>>> Read full article>>>
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source : Sci-News.com – https://www.sci.news/astronomy/cotton-candy-exoplanet-wasp-107b-12948.html

Tags: Cotton-CandyExoplanetscience
Previous Post

308-Million-Year-Old Fossil of Remarkable Spiny Arachnid Found in Illinois

Next Post

National Security Memorandum-22 omitted space entirely. Here’s a path forward.

A major AI training data set contains millions of examples of personal data – MIT Technology Review

A major AI training data set contains millions of examples of personal data – MIT Technology Review

July 18, 2025
Dave Portnoy unites FOX Sports and Barstool with new football, basketball coverage deal – Fox News

Dave Portnoy unites FOX Sports and Barstool with new football, basketball coverage deal – Fox News

July 18, 2025
To see and not be seen: Carangids hide behind sharks to prey on fish – Cattano – 2025 – Ecology – ESA Journals

Mastering the Art of Stealth: How Carangids Turn Sharks into Living Shields to Outsmart Their Prey

July 18, 2025
Science labs move ‘a hammer blow’, says MP – Yahoo

Science labs move ‘a hammer blow’, says MP – Yahoo

July 18, 2025
American science to soon face its largest brain drain in history – Big Think

America’s Science Community Confronts Its Biggest Brain Drain in History

July 18, 2025
Longhorns Daily News: Austin’s fast-paced lifestyle helped inspire former Texas WR Brenen Thompson to transfer to new school – Burnt Orange Nation

Longhorns Daily News: Austin’s fast-paced lifestyle helped inspire former Texas WR Brenen Thompson to transfer to new school – Burnt Orange Nation

July 18, 2025
China’s path to world dominance is being laid by President Trump’s policies, including in Alaska – Alaska Beacon

China’s path to world dominance is being laid by President Trump’s policies, including in Alaska – Alaska Beacon

July 18, 2025
Wall Street’s Big 7 Are Now Bigger Than China’s Entire Economy – MSN

Wall Street’s 7 Biggest Titans Now Outpace the Entire Chinese Economy

July 18, 2025
Bad Bunny, Travis Scott, Saweetie, and All the Songs You Need to Know This Week – Yahoo

Bad Bunny, Travis Scott, Saweetie, and This Week’s Must-Listen Hits

July 18, 2025
‘I just couldn’t stop crying’: How prison affects Black men’s mental health long after they’ve been released – The Conversation

I Just Couldn’t Stop Crying’: The Deep and Lasting Impact of Prison on Black Men’s Mental Health

July 18, 2025

Categories

Archives

July 2025
MTWTFSS
 123456
78910111213
14151617181920
21222324252627
28293031 
« Jun    
Earth-News.info

The Earth News is an independent English-language daily published Website from all around the World News

Browse by Category

  • Business (20,132)
  • Ecology (727)
  • Economy (750)
  • Entertainment (21,635)
  • General (15,970)
  • Health (9,788)
  • Lifestyle (758)
  • News (22,149)
  • People (752)
  • Politics (760)
  • Science (15,967)
  • Sports (21,248)
  • Technology (15,733)
  • World (734)

Recent News

A major AI training data set contains millions of examples of personal data – MIT Technology Review

A major AI training data set contains millions of examples of personal data – MIT Technology Review

July 18, 2025
Dave Portnoy unites FOX Sports and Barstool with new football, basketball coverage deal – Fox News

Dave Portnoy unites FOX Sports and Barstool with new football, basketball coverage deal – Fox News

July 18, 2025
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

Go to mobile version