Carbon dioxide has been detected on a planet outside our solar system for the first time. The gas was observed directly by the James Webb space telescope on four exoplanets, all belonging to the HR 8799 system, located 130 light years from the earth. CO detection2 Offers indices on how distant planets are formed, observations providing solid evidence that these four giant planets have formed in the same way as Jupiter and Saturn, by the slow formation of solid nuclei. The results were published In the latest issue of the astronomical review.
“By detecting these strong carbon dioxide formations, we have shown that there is a considerable fraction of heavier elements, such as carbon, oxygen and iron, in the atmospheres of these planets,” said William Balmer, an astrophysicist at Johns Hopkins University and the main newspaper of the newspaper, in a statement to NASA. “Given what we know about the star that they orbit, this probably indicates that they have formed by the basic accretion, which, for the planets that we can see directly, is an exciting conclusion.”
HR 8799 is a system born 30 million years ago, just like young compared to our solar system, which has existed for 4.6 billion years. Always hot of their violent formation, the planets of HR 8799 emit large amounts of infrared light. This provides scientists with precious data on how their training is compared to that of a star or a brown dwarf, the term given to large gaseous planets which do not turn into stars.
“Our hope with this type of research is to understand our own solar system, our life and ourselves in relation to other exoplanetary systems, so that we can contextualize our existence,” said Balmer. “We want to take photos of other solar systems and see how they are similar or different from ours. From there, we can try to understand how really our solar system is, or how normal it is. “
Carbon dioxide has been an essential ingredient for the development of life on earth, making it a key target in the search for life elsewhere in space.
In addition, because Co2 Condense in tiny particles of ice in the deep cold of space, its presence can shed light on planetary formation. It is believed that Jupiter and Saturn have formed through a process in which a bunch of tiny icy particles were merged to form a solid nucleus, which then absorbed the gas to develop in the gas giants that we know today.
“We have other evidence that indicates the formation of these four HR planets 8799 by this upward approach,” said Laurent Pueyo, astronomer of the Space Telescope Science Institute and co -author of the newspaper, in a press release to NASA. “To what extent is it common in the long-term planets that we can image directly? We do not yet know, but we offer other observations via webb, inspired by our carbon dioxide diagnostics, to answer this question.”
Unlock the potential of the James Webb space telescope
The James Webb space telescope should also receive its flowers, because it has shown that it is capable of doing more than deducting the atmospheric composition of exoplanets from the measurements of the star light; In fact, it has demonstrated its ability to directly analyze the chemical composition of atmospheres as far as these.
Normally, the JWST can barely detect an exoplanet when it meets in front of its host star, due to the great distance that separates us. But on this occasion, direct observation was made possible by the coronagrapists of the JWST – of the instruments which block the light of the stars to reveal differently hidden worlds.
“It’s like putting your thumb in front of the sun when you look at the sky,” said Balmer. This framework, similar to a solar eclipse, allowed the team to search for infrared light with wavelengths from the planet which reveal specific gases and other atmospheric details.
“These giant planets have very important implications,” said Balmer. “If these enormous planets act like bowling balls that cross our solar system, they can disturb, protect or, in a sense, make both to planets like ours.
This story originally appeared on Wired in Español and was translated from Spanish.
