The harsh surface temperatures of an exoplanet with an exceptionally severe climate have been seen in detail by astronomers, who have measured them to be over 3,200 degrees Celsius (5,792 degrees Fahrenheit).
These temperatures, as detected by the CHEOPS satellite of the European Space Agency, are hot enough to melt all rocks and metals and even transform them into gas.
The exoplanet, known as WASP-189b, is about as warm as certain tiny dwarf stars while not being nearly as heated as the surface of our Sun (6,000 degrees Celsius or 10,832 degrees Fahrenheit).
The latest discoveries categorically state that WASP-189b is one of the most extreme planets ever found. It orbits its star in a mere 2.7 days, with one side experiencing perpetual "day" and the other experiencing perpetual "night." It is enormous as well; almost 1.6 times the size of Jupiter.
The gas giant WASP-189b circles its host star extremely closely, which makes it very intriguing, according to astronomer Monika Lendl of the University of Geneva in Switzerland. It travels around its star in less than three days and is 20 times closer to it than the Sun is to the Earth.
The host star in issue, HD 133112, is one of the hottest stars known to have a planetary system around it. It is 2,000 degrees Celsius (3,600 degrees Fahrenheit) hotter than our Sun. This celestial body is spinning so quickly that it is being dragged outwards near its equator, as discovered by CHEOPS.
For direct observation, WASP-189b is too far away (326 light-years) and too near to HD 133112, but CHEOPS has several tricks on its sleeve. An occultation was used to view the exoplanet when it passed in front of its star. Then it saw a transit when WASP-189b moved in front of its star.
These measurements allowed scientists to determine the exoplanet's brightness, temperature, size, shape, and orbital properties as well as some more details about the star it orbits.
WASP-189b is a so-called hot Jupiter planet because it is on par with Jupiter in size but is hotter and closer to its home star (you can see where the name came from). The knowledge CHEOPS has acquired about WASP-189b is expected to advance our knowledge of hot Jupiters as a whole, according to researchers.
According to Lendl, there are just a few planets known to exist near stars this hot, and this system is by far the brightest. The whole system is quite exciting since WASP-189b is also the brightest hot Jupiter that we can see when it moves in front of or behind its star.
The formation of WASP-189b has been one of the topics of recent CHEOPS study; based on its inclined orbit, it seems to have originated farther from HD 133112 before being forced inwards.
In addition to the wealth of information this new research has offered, it also demonstrates that CHEOPS is operating as planned and successfully, accurately measuring brightness throughout deep space.
Numerous missions remain for the spacecraft, and there are hundreds of exoplanets waiting in line for deeper inspection. The information it gathers should help us understand both the planets outside of our Solar System and our own Solar System.
Acording to a planetary scientist, Heike Rauer of the German DLR Institute of Planetary Research, "The precision attained with CHEOPS is excellent." "The equipment is helping us to understand more about these faraway planets," says the researcher. "The early data already suggest that the sensor functions better than predicted."
The study was published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.
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