NASA James Webb Space Telescope May Have Solved the Cosmic Mystery of an Inflated Exoplanet

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope may have unraveled the cosmic puzzle surrounding the inflated exoplanet WASP-107 b.

An Exoplanet with Remarkable Puffiness

The warm gas giant exoplanet WASP-107 b has long puzzled scientists with its remarkable puffiness and moderate temperature. In density, it resembles a microwaved marshmallow. However, two research teams' recent findings may shed light on this celestial mystery.

Researchers discovered surprisingly little methane in the exoplanet's atmosphere by analyzing data collected from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope and previous observations from the Hubble Space Telescope.

According to NASA, this revelation suggests that the planet's interior is considerably hotter and its core more massive than initially presumed.

The high temperatures are believed to result from tidal heating induced by the planet's slightly elliptical orbit, which stretches and heats the planet akin to silly putty.

This newfound understanding explains how exoplanets like WASP-107 b can exhibit such extraordinary puffiness, potentially resolving a longstanding enigma in exoplanet science.

Unlike the conventional expectations of a small rocky core surrounded by vast layers of hydrogen and helium, WASP-107 b appears to challenge these assumptions. The discrepancy between its observed characteristics and theoretical predictions has fueled speculation about its formation and evolution.

Webb's remarkable sensitivity and capacity to analyze light passing through exoplanet atmospheres has provided invaluable insights into the nature of WASP-107 b and similar low-density exoplanets.

WASP-107 b's Atmosphere

Through transmission spectroscopy, researchers examined the composition of WASP-107 b's atmosphere, revealing a surprising absence of methane, a molecule typically expected in such environments.

This scarcity of methane, coupled with the detection of other carbon-bearing molecules, suggests a vigorous mixing of hot gases from the planet's interior with cooler layers in the upper atmosphere.

This internal heat is likely due to tidal heating resulting from the planet's eccentric orbit, which continuously varies the distance between the star and the planet, exerting gravitational forces that stretch and heat the planet.

By leveraging these findings, researchers were able to refine their understanding of WASP-107 b's internal structure, revealing a core at least twice as massive as previously estimated.

According to NASA, this revised model aligns more cohesively with established theories of planet formation, dispelling some of the mystery surrounding WASP-107 b.

Webb's observations offer a compelling narrative of planetary evolution, suggesting that celestial bodies like WASP-107 b may not be as enigmatic as once perceived. Instead, they may represent a variation of familiar planetary compositions, albeit under extreme temperature and pressure conditions.

"The Webb data tells us that planets like WASP-107 b didn't have to form in some odd way with a super small core and a huge gassy envelope," Mike Line from Arizona State University (ASU) said in an official statement. "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."

The researchers' findings were published in the journal Nature.