First-Ever Signature of Hydroxyl Molecule Spotted Beyond Our Solar System
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Sputnik International
https://sputniknews.com/science/202104301082772784-first-ever-signature-of-hydroxyl-molecule-spotted-beyond-our-solar-system/
The hydroxyl in the planet s atmosphere is believed to be the product of water vapour being destroyed by high temperatures.
The apparent presence of the hydroxyl radical (OH) has been discovered on a distant exoplanet by an international collaboration of astronomers, SciTechDaily reports.
The chemical signature in question was detected on the day side of WASP-33b, a gas-giant planet that orbits its host star at a distance much shorter than that between Mercury and the Sun.
As the media outlet notes, this is the first time that such a molecule has been found outside of our solar system.
First-Ever Signature of Hydroxyl Molecule Spotted Beyond Our Solar System
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Astronomers obtain the first direct evidence of hydroxyl molecules in the atmosphere of a planet beyond the Solar System.
Artist’s impression of an ultra-hot Jupiter exoplanet, WASP-33b. Image credit Astrobiology Center
An international collaboration of astronomers led by a researcher from the Astrobiology Center and Queen’s University Belfast, and including researchers from Trinity College Dublin, has detected a new chemical signature in the atmosphere of an extrasolar planet (a planet that orbits a star other than our Sun).
The hydroxyl radical (OH) was found on the dayside of the exoplanet WASP-33b. This planet is an “ultra-hot Jupiter”, a gas-giant planet orbiting its host star much closer than Mercury orbits the Sun and therefore reaching atmospheric temperatures of more than 2,500°C (hot enough to melt most metals).