Lonely planet?
IT’S been beautifully sunny here recently, but what’s the weather doing in space?
Scientists have been finding out, with their study of new planet Wasp 76-b, a gas giant twice the size of Jupiter. Wasp 76-b has winds of up to 18,000km/h and it’s so hot that, when it does rain, it rains iron (yes, molten metal).
Here, scientist Professor Don Pollacco of Warwick University – part of the team that discovered the planet – answers our questions.
How did you find Wasp 76-b?
WE took pictures of all the bright stars and looked for any that had little dips in their brightness lasting a few hours that repeated every few days. As planets are smaller than their stars, their orbit could move across the star making it slightly fainter. It’s the dips in brightness that allow us to confirm the presence of a planet.
How long would it take us to get there?
WITH our fastest rocket WASP-76b would take about 16 million years to reach.
How did you choose its name?
WASP-76B was the 76th discovery from the Wide Angle Survey for Planets. The star is WASP-76, and the planet WASP-76b.
The survey was done with two instruments – one in the Canary Islands and the other in South Africa. The full naming of a planet or star is strictly controlled by the International Astronomical Union.
Is it hotter than a volcano?
THIS planet is extremely close to its star and we think its temperature is about 2,000°C.
The temperature of lava is around 1,000°C so the planet is roughly twice as hot.
Could anything live there?
UNLIKELY. Certainly nothing like humans or probably anything similar to that living on Earth because the temperature is so high. Also the planet is a ball of gas. If there is a surface at all its probably very deep inside the planet but its not a surface you could stand on.
Does Wasp 76-b have moons?
WE don’t know. Finding planets is hard, finding their moons is even harder.
Which galaxy is it in?
IT’S in our own Milky Way.
Right now it’s difficult to discover planets in more distant galaxies but they will be there for sure.