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Brand new examinations from the James Webb telescope indicate that the exoplanet PSR J2322-2650b could possess an atmosphere brimming with carbon deposits and diamonds (Image credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, Ralf Crawford (STScI))ShareShare by:
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A faraway exoplanet appears to display a murky atmospheric layer that is perplexing the scientists who recently discovered it.
The Jupiter-sized entity, identified via the James Webb Space Observatory (JWST), does not feature the well-known helium-hydrogen arrangement common to atmospheres in our solar neighborhood, nor other prevalent molecules like water, methane, or carbon dioxide.
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“This came as a total shock,” expressed study co-author Peter Gao, a scientist on staff at the Carnegie Earth and Planets Laboratory, in a statement. “I can recall that after we acquired the data, our group’s general response was, ‘What in the world is this?’ It deviates significantly from our anticipations.”
Neutron sun
The researchers examined the planet’s strange surrounding environment, known as PSR J2322-2650b, in a document released this past Tuesday (Dec. 16) in the publication The Astrophysical Journal Letters. While a radio telescope examination initially spotted the world in 2017, it needed the heightened sensitivity of JWST (which was deployed in 2021) to examine PSR J2322-2650b’s environment, at a distance of 750 light-years.
PSR J2322-2650b revolves around a pulsar. Pulsars consist of fast-spinning neutron stars — the extremely dense cores of stellar bodies that have detonated as supernovas — that radiate energy in brief, consistent bursts, noticeable solely when their beacon-like emissions of electromagnetic energy are directed straight towards Earth. (This alone is unusual, as no other pulsar is confirmed to host a gas-giant planet, and very few pulsars possess any planets, according to the science team.)
JWST’s infrared devices aren’t equipped to actually observe this particular pulsar, given its emission of high-energy gamma radiation. However, JWST’s “inability” to perceive the pulsar actually benefits researchers, enabling them to readily explore the accompanying planet, PSR J2322-2650b, in order to ascertain the characteristics of the planet’s environment.
“This system presents a unique scenario, given our capacity to observe the planet illuminated by its host star while remaining unable to view the host star directly,” explained co-author Maya Beleznay, a doctoral candidate in physics at Stanford University, in the statement. “We’re in a position to scrutinize this system with greater precision than typical exoplanets.”
An artist’s concept of the exoplanet PSR J2322-2650b. Formation mystery
The developmental history of PSR J2322-2650b remains a conundrum. It maintains a separation of only a million miles (1.6 million kilometers) from its stellar body — approximately 100 times closer compared to Earth’s proximity to the sun. This characteristic is made all the more perplexing when accounting for the considerably greater distance between gas giant planets within our solar system and the sun — Jupiter, for example, lies 484 million miles (778 million km) away from the sun.
The planet circles its star in a mere 7.8 hours, and its form resembles a lemon because the pulsar’s gravity exerts an extraordinary influence on the planet. On an initial inspection, the developmental framework for PSR J2322-2650b appears to mirror that of “black widow” configurations, where a sun-resembling star is positioned alongside a diminutive pulsar.
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Within black-widow systems, the pulsar essentially “devours” or wears away at the neighboring star, akin to the fictional black widow spider’s consumption rituals which serve as the namesake for this phenomena. This arises because the star orbits so close to the pulsar that its matter gravitates toward the pulsar. The influx of extra stellar material prompts the pulsar to gradually accelerate in spin and produce an intense “wind” of radiation, causing the nearby star to erode.
But, as indicated by lead author Michael Zhang, a postdoctoral fellow specializing in exoplanet atmospheres at the University of Chicago, this trajectory complicates understanding the origin of PSR J2322-2650b. Indeed, the planet’s genesis appears to be inexplicable presently.
“Did this object take shape like a typical planet? Unlikely, because its elemental makeup is entirely distinct,” Zhang elucidated in the statement. “It is challenging to envision how such an exceptionally carbon-rich composition emerges. It seems to negate every acknowledged mechanism of formation.”
Diamonds in the air
The scientific community remains incapable of explaining why soot or diamonds manifest in the exoplanet’s atmosphere. Typically, molecular carbon fails to appear in planets orbiting extremely close to their stars, attributable to the intense heat.
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One plausible explanation stems from study co-author Roger Romani, a professor of physics affiliated with Stanford University as well as the Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology. He postulates that, following the planet’s gradual cooldown from its initial formation, the carbon and oxygen within its core crystallized.
Even this supposition fails to encompass all of its eccentric attributes. “Pure carbon crystals then ascend to the uppermost layers and integrate with helium … however, something must then ensure that oxygen and nitrogen are kept separate,” Romani remarked in the same declaration. “That’s the focal point of the unanswered question.”
Scientists maintain intentions to persist in the examination of PSR J2322-2650b. “It’s advantageous to acknowledge the presence of unknowns,” Romani stated. “I’m anticipating further discoveries pertaining to this atmosphere’s peculiarities. It’s stimulating to confront an unresolved problem.”
Elizabeth HowellLive Science Contributor
Elizabeth Howell served as staff reporter at Space.com from 2022 to 2024 and frequently wrote for both Live Science and Space.com between 2012 and 2022. Elizabeth’s reporting features multiple exclusives with the Executive Office, frequent talks with the International Space Station, the observation of five human spaceflight launches across two continents, participation in parabolic flights, operation within a spacesuit, and immersion in a simulated Mars endeavor. Her most recent book, “Why Am I Taller?” (ECW Press, 2022) is co-authored alongside astronaut Dave Williams.
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