As space technology has advanced, scientists have discovered several exoplanets outside the solar system that are literally strange worlds beyond human imagination. Now, scientists have discovered a giant hot exoplanet where droplets of molten iron used to rain in the night skies.
More details about this strange exoplanet
Scientists have named this exoplanet WASP-76b, and it is apparently orbiting a star in the Pisces constellation that is located almost 640 light-years away from the earth. Shockingly, this planet is not suitable to host any kind of life forms as it is being hit by thousands of times radiation than Earth receives from the sun. During the day time, the temperature on the planet exceeds 3140 degrees Fahrenheit.
The study report published in the journal Astronomy revealed that this planet is tidally locked, which means the same side of this exoplanet will be always facing its star. As the planet is tidally locked, it will also have a dark side, in the same manner, earth's only natural satellite moon has a far side.
Scientists discovered the iron rain traces on the planet using European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope. As per researchers who took part in the study, the scorching temperatures in the day time create iron vapor. Later, strong winds carry this wind to the dark side of this planet, where it will rain due to relatively cooler temperatures.
"Surprisingly, however, we do not see the iron vapor in the morning. It is raining iron on the night side of this extreme exoplanet," said David Ehrenreich, a researcher at the University of Geneva, Switzerland and the lead author of the study.
A unique exoplanet with three suns
A few months back, researchers, using the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) had discovered an exoplanet with three suns. After making this discovery, researchers revealed that studying more about this exoplanet could help to unveil many crucial details about the existence of alien life. Interestingly, this exoplanet also holds a strong atmosphere, and it has a speedy orbit around its suns.
