5,700 degrees exoplanet can relate to Earth in one way, scientists say

An exoplanet around 322 light-years from Earth orbits one of the hottest stars in the universe, and while it certainly doesn't harbor any life, Earth can still relate to it.

The exoplanet is WASP-189b, and it orbits one of the hottest stars in the universe, HD 133112, at a distance of twenty times closer than Earth is to the Sun. Additionally, during the daytime, WASP-189b is estimated to reach temperatures of 5,791 degrees Fahrenheit. Moreover, the planet is comprised of gas that is estimated to be around 1.5 times the size of Jupiter.

So, how can Earth relate to a scorching hot gas planet hundreds of light-years away? In a new study published in the journal Nature Astronomy, a team of scientists found that WASP-189b may have a more complex atmosphere than previously thought as researchers measured the starlight passing through the gas giant and found unique chemical signatures. These chemical signatures indicated that WASP-189b might have atmospheric layers similar to Earth (troposphere, stratosphere, etc.)

"In the past, astronomers often assumed that the atmospheres of exoplanets exist as a uniform layer and try to understand it as such," said Jens Hoeijmakers, an astrophysicist at Lund University and study co-author.

"The gases in its atmosphere absorb some of the starlight, similar to ozone absorbing some of the sunlight in Earth's atmosphere, and thereby leave their characteristic 'fingerprint,'" Bibiana Prinoth, an astrophysicist at Lund University and lead author of the study.

"Our results demonstrate that even the atmospheres of intensely irradiated giant gas planets have complex three-dimensional structures," said Hoeijmakers.

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