How Expensive is WASP-127b?
WouterDuring a conference in December of 2020, an international team of astronomers presented findings from a new study on the upper atmosphere of WASP-127 b, a gas giant exoplanet. The study was published in the December 2020 issue of Astronomy and Astrophysics.
The study, conducted by an international team of researchers, revealed clouds in the atmosphere of this distant exoplanet. The researchers narrowed down the altitude of the clouds and measured their pressure with unprecedented accuracy. They used data collected by both space-based telescopes and ground-based telescopes. The findings are likely to lead to further studies on other faraway worlds.
The study also highlighted the importance of combining data collected by both space-based and ground-based telescopes. The researchers used data from the Hubble Space Telescope, the Very Large Telescope, the Gran Telescopio Canarias, and the ESPRESSO instrument.
The researchers’ findings suggest that WASP-127 b has a planet-planet scattering mechanism that has shortened its orbit. They also suggest that the planet rotates in the opposite direction from its host star.
The study also found that the planet has an atmosphere rich in lithium and sodium. Researchers also believe that water may be present. However, the detection of water is not statistically significant. It is likely that more observations will be required to determine the composition of the clouds.
The researchers used visible light measurements from the ESPRESSO spectrograph on the Very Large Telescope. The ESPRESSO instrument is a collaboration between Echelle, Jessica Spake, and the European Space Agency.
