NASA's Hubble Spots a Heavy Metal Jupiter Where It Rains Liquid Gems

An anonymous reader shares a report: The exoplanet WASP-121b, which resides about 900 light-years from Earth, is an egg-shaped scorcher. Temperatures on the planet's day side can reach up to 4,600 degrees Fahrenheit. It's so hot that heavy metal elements, like iron and magnesium, exist as gases and are constantly streaming out of the atmosphere and into space. But the planet's night side has, until now, remained in the dark. In a new study, published in the journal Nature Astronomy on Feb. 21, astronomers shared their first look at the planet's dark side using NASA's Hubble Telescope.

Telescopes at the South African Astronomical Observatory discovered WASP-121b in 2015. The planet, which is a little bigger and heavier than Jupiter, is on the verge of being ripped apart by the gravitational forces of its home star, known as WASP 121. It makes a full orbit of that star once every 1.3 days and is tidally locked -- one side is perpetually bathed in starlight, the other is forever staring out into space. "This is one of the most extreme systems we have," says Ben Montet, an astrophysicist at the University of New South Wales who was not affiliated with the study. He notes its extremely hot day side is hotter than some stars.

Burying the lede

[93 Escort Wagon]

"one side is perpetually bathed in starlight, the other is forever staring out into space."

They found a planet with eyes?

Re:

[kmoser]

And it likes to take baths!

Re:

[Geoffrey.landis]

And it likes to take baths!

In liquid gems!

Re:

[PsychoSlashDot]

"one side is perpetually bathed in starlight, the other is forever staring out into space."

They found a planet with eyes?

Actually, I was amazed that the source of this starlight as apparently not in space.

State Of Matter

[zenlessyank]

Isn't a gem a state of matter? As in a solid? So the headline suggests liquid solids?

I'm confused.

Re:

[JanSand]

Perhaps, once the Webb telescope starts performing, we shall spot Satan and his larger demons.

Re:State Of Matter

[excelsior_gr]

A gem is a mineral that people like to use in jewellery. Since minerals are solids in earth-ambient temperatures, gems in general are also solids. But minerals have melting and boiling points and on this planet they are generally gaseous, except when the temperature drops below the boiling point. The technically correct term would be to say that it rains minerals, but I suppose we can let it pass if one says it rains liquid gems, since a gem is essentially a mineral, regardless of state. Having said that, I'm sure a lot of crystallographers will reach for their pitchforks when they hear this, because they would probably define a gem to be a mineral of a certain crystal structure (i.e. necessarily a solid, so the term "liquid gem" would be contradicting itself). A jeweller, however, could also claim that jet and amber are also gems although they are not crystals (amorphous and orgnanic, respectively). Also, note that the article author avoided saying that it rains liquid gem*stones*, and opted to use "liquid gems". Meh.

Re:

[jimbobxxx]

A jeweller, however, could also claim that jet and amber are also gems although they are not crystals (amorphous and orgnanic, respectively). Also, note that the article author avoided saying that it rains liquid gem*stones*, and opted to use "liquid gems". Meh.

Would a jeweller claim that graphite is also a gem? Being the same material as a diamond?

Re:

[drinkypoo]

Yep. A liquid gem is like a liquid ice cube. Fucking meaningless.

So much for news for nerds, huh?

Re:

[grogger]

Isn't glass a "liquid solid" in that it flows very slowly?

Re: State Of Matter

[St.Creed]

It doesn't flow.

Re:

[Opyros]

For a citation: https://www.cmog.org/article/does-glass-flow [cmog.org]

Re:

[zlives]

hush, TFA is a blatant attempt to lanuch De Beers space initiative.

What about Venus?

[backslashdot]

It may rain or "snow" metal (lead and bismuth compounds) in parts of Venus .. if we bother to send another lander (or even better, a drone,) we should definitely check that out. References: https://www.smithsonianmag.com... [smithsonianmag.com]
https://source.wustl.edu/2004/... [wustl.edu]

That's ~2500 C

[junglee_iitk]

That's ~2500 C in non-retarded units.

Re:That's ~2500 C

[K. S. Kyosuke]

That sounds more like Death Metal.

Re:

[Nkwe]

Excellent!

Re:

[gmby]

Trolled! is you!
All units are valid and valued!

Hint: If your a little confused see: >man units

Singed
      Retard

Re:

[war4peace]

Singed

      Retard

Are you living on the planet from the article? That would explain being singed.

Re:

[CaptQuark]

Or ~2773 K in William Thomson's (known as Lord Kelvin) favorite scale.

Re:

[delirious.net]

And don't forget, you may not have read it in the article, but..

"He notes its extremely hot day side is hotter than some stars. "

It is extremely hot on the day side.

To sum it up: Extremely hot day side. Get it? good.

Re: That's ~2500 C

[NagrothAgain]

If you're going to piss and moan over units used to measure temperature then you should be using Kelvin. C is only marginally less arbitrary than F.

Re: Why rotate?

[Angeret]

And long term zero gravity is where you *don't* want people. People are more fragile than some people think they are, and zero or reduced gravity can play havoc with a person's bones, muscle & pretty much everything else. Some changes can revert fairly quickly when back in a 1G* environment, some take longer and some may be permanent.

I'd settle for artificial gravity or rotating station and a zero G section for appropriate experiments.

*Let's not get sidetracked by the 5G issue here... [chortle]

I choose the later

[AndyKron]

It sure is neat that Hubble can detect liquid gems 900 light years away. Or it's all bullshit.

Re: I choose the later

[IdanceNmyCar]

Well if you could spell latter, you might have something for your claim to stand on.

Yeah! Show your horns!

[cmdr_klarg]

\m/ \m/

Piling on...

[rickb928]

"This is one of the most extreme systems we have,"

Um, 'they' 'have' it? In Warehouse 13?