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NASA’s Webb Maps Weather on Planet 280 Light-Years Away
NASA, ESA, CSA, Ralf Crawford (STScI)
An international team of researchers has successfully used NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to map the weather on the hot gas-giant exoplanet WASP-43 b.
Precise brightness measurements over a broad spectrum of mid-infrared light, combined with 3D climate models and previous observations from other telescopes, suggest the presence of thick, high clouds covering the nightside, clear skies on the dayside, and equatorial winds upwards of 5,000 miles per hour mixing atmospheric gases around the planet.
The investigation is just the latest demonstration of the exoplanet science now possible with Webb’s extraordinary ability to measure temperature variations and detect atmospheric gases trillions of miles away.
Image: Hot Gas-Giant Exoplanet WASP-43 b (Artist’s Concept) This artist’s concept shows what the hot gas-giant exoplanet WASP-43 b could look like. WASP-43 b is a Jupiter-sized planet roughly 280 light-years away, in the constellation Sextans. The planet orbits its star at a distance of about 1.3 million miles, completing one circuit in about 19.5 hours. Because it is so close to its star, WASP-43 b is probably tidally locked: Its rotation rate and orbital period are the same, such that one side faces the star at all times. Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, Ralf Crawford (STScI) Tidally Locked “Hot Jupiter”
WASP-43 b is a “hot Jupiter” type of exoplanet: similar in size to Jupiter, made primarily of hydrogen and helium, and much hotter than any of the giant planets in our own solar system. Although its star is smaller and cooler than the Sun, WASP-43 b orbits at a distance of just 1.3 million miles – less than 1/25th the distance between Mercury and the Sun.
With such a tight orbit, the planet is tidally locked, with one side continuously illuminated and the other in permanent darkness. Although the nightside never receives any direct radiation from the star, strong eastward winds transport heat around from the dayside.
Since its discovery in 2011, WASP-43 b has been observed with numerous telescopes, including NASA’s Hubble and now-retired Spitzer space telescopes.
“With Hubble, we could clearly see that there is water vapor on the dayside. Both Hubble and Spitzer suggested there might be clouds on the nightside,” explained Taylor Bell, researcher from the Bay Area Environmental Research Institute and lead author of a study published today in Nature Astronomy. “But we needed more precise measurements from Webb to really begin mapping the temperature, cloud cover, winds, and more detailed atmospheric composition all the way around the planet.”
Mapping Temperature and Inferring WeatherAlthough WASP-43 b is too small, dim, and close to its star for a telescope to see directly, its short orbital period of just 19.5 hours makes it ideal for phase curve spectroscopy, a technique that involves measuring tiny changes in brightness of the star-planet system as the planet orbits the star.
Since the amount of mid-infrared light given off by an object depends largely on how hot it is, the brightness data captured by Webb can then be used to calculate the planet’s temperature.
Image: Hot Gas-Giant Exoplanet WASP-43 b (MIRI Phase Curve) This phase curve, captured by the MIRI low resolution spectrometer on NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, shows the change in brightness of the WASP-43 system over time as the planet orbits its star. The system appears brightest when the hot dayside of the planet is facing the telescope, just before and after it passes behind the star. The system grows dimmer as the planet continues its orbits and the nightside rotates into view. It brightens again after passing in front of the star as the dayside rotates back into view. WASP-43 b is a hot Jupiter roughly 280 light-years away, in the constellation Sextans. Credits: Science: Taylor J. Bell (BAERI); Joanna Barstow (Open University); Michael Roman (University of Leicester) Graphic Design: NASA, ESA, CSA, Ralf Crawford (STScI)
The team used Webb’s MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) to measure light from the WASP-43 system every 10 seconds for more than 24 hours. “By observing over an entire orbit, we were able to calculate the temperature of different sides of the planet as they rotate into view,” explained Bell. “From that, we could construct a rough map of temperature across the planet.”
The measurements show that the dayside has an average temperature of nearly 2,300 degrees Fahrenheit (1,250 degrees Celsius) – hot enough to forge iron. Meanwhile, the nightside is significantly cooler at 1,100 degrees Fahrenheit (600 degrees Celsius). The data also helps locate the hottest spot on the planet (the “hotspot”), which is shifted slightly eastward from the point that receives the most stellar radiation, where the star is highest in the planet’s sky. This shift occurs because of supersonic winds, which move heated air eastward.
“The fact that we can map temperature in this way is a real testament to Webb’s sensitivity and stability,” said Michael Roman, a co-author from the University of Leicester in the U.K.
To interpret the map, the team used complex 3D atmospheric models like those used to understand weather and climate on Earth. The analysis shows that the nightside is probably covered in a thick, high layer of clouds that prevent some of the infrared light from escaping to space. As a result, the nightside – while very hot – looks dimmer and cooler than it would if there were no clouds.
Image: Hot Gas-Giant Exoplanet WASP-43 b (Temperature Maps) This set of maps shows the temperature of the visible side of the hot gas-giant exoplanet WASP-43 b, as it orbits its star. The dayside of the planet is visible just before and after it passes behind the star. The temperatures were calculated based on more than 8,000 brightness measurements of 5- to 12-micron mid-infrared light detected from the star-planet system by MIRI (the Mid-Infrared Instrument) on NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. In general, the hotter an object is, the more mid-infrared light it gives off. Credits: Science: Taylor J. Bell (BAERI); Joanna Barstow (Open University); Michael Roman (University of Leicester) Graphic Design: NASA, ESA, CSA, Ralf Crawford (STScI) Animation: Hot Gas-Giant Exoplanet WASP-43 b (Temperature Maps)
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Although the planet is far too close to the blinding light of its star to see on its own, it is possible to calculate its brightness by measuring the brightness of the star-planet system as a whole, and then subtracting the amount of light coming from the star (measured when the planet is behind the star).
Webb was able to measure each side of the planet by observing over an entire 19.5-hour orbit. The planet is tidally locked, which means that its rotation rate is the same as its orbital period, so different sides rotate into view as the planet moves around the star.
WASP-43 b has an average temperature of about 2,280°F (1,250°C) on the dayside and 1,115°F (600°C) on the nightside. The temperature map also shows that the nightside is probably covered in thick, high clouds. Clouds prevent some of the infrared energy from escaping to space, making the nightside appear cooler than it would if there were no clouds. Thomas Muller, MPIA Missing Methane and High Winds
The broad spectrum of mid-infrared light captured by Webb also made it possible to measure the amount of water vapor (H2O) and methane (CH4) around the planet. “Webb has given us an opportunity to figure out exactly which molecules we’re seeing and put some limits on the abundances,” said Joanna Barstow, a co-author from the Open University in the U.K.
The spectra show clear signs of water vapor on the nightside as well as the dayside of the planet, providing additional information about how thick the clouds are and how high they extend in the atmosphere.
Surprisingly, the data also shows a distinct lack of methane anywhere in the atmosphere. Although the dayside is too hot for methane to exist (most of the carbon should be in the form of carbon monoxide), methane should be stable and detectable on the cooler nightside.
“The fact that we don’t see methane tells us that WASP-43b must have wind speeds reaching something like 5,000 miles per hour,” explained Barstow. “If winds move gas around from the dayside to the nightside and back again fast enough, there isn’t enough time for the expected chemical reactions to produce detectable amounts of methane on the nightside.”
The team thinks that because of this wind-driven mixing, the atmospheric chemistry is the same all the way around the planet, which wasn’t apparent from past work with Hubble and Spitzer.
The MIRI observation of WASP-43 b was conducted as part of the Webb Early Release Science programs, which are providing researchers with a vast set of robust, open-access data for studying a wide array of cosmic phenomena.The James Webb Space Telescope is the world’s premier space science observatory. Webb is solving mysteries in our solar system, looking beyond to distant worlds around other stars, and probing the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it. Webb is an international program led by NASA with its partners, ESA (European Space Agency) and the Canadian Space Agency.
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Download full resolution images for this article from the Space Telescope Science Institute.
The research results can be viewed here. They were published today in the Nature Astronomy.
Laura Betz – laura.e.betz@nasa.gov, Rob Gutro – rob.gutro@nasa.gov
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
Margaret Carruthers mcarruthers@stsci.edu, Christine Pulliam – cpulliam@stsci.edu
Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Md.
More Webb News – https://science.nasa.gov/mission/webb/latestnews/
More Webb Images – https://science.nasa.gov/mission/webb/multimedia/images/
Webb Mission Page – https://science.nasa.gov/mission/webb/
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NASA Challenge Gives Space Thruster Commercial Boost
3 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Members of Team Miles with the CubeSat developed during the NASA Cube Quest Challenge. From left to right: Alex Wingeier, Don Smith, Wes Faler.Image credit: Team Miles
In its pursuit to develop groundbreaking technologies to explore space and benefit life on Earth, NASA invites the public to contribute ideas to the agency through participatory opportunities, including challenges. The Cube Quest competition – NASA’s first in-space challenge – kicked off in 2015, offering a total prize purse of $5 million.
This challenge asked university and private developer teams to complete objectives in designing, building, and delivering small satellites capable of advanced deep space operations. Throughout two challenge phases, several teams developed and tested technologies to launch small satellites, also known as CubeSats, into orbit.
Team Miles of Tampa, Florida, was the sole team to send its CubeSat aboard 2022’s Artemis I flight test around the Moon. Team Miles was under the leadership of Wesley Faler and found members through Tampa Hackerspace, a community nonprofit workshop. From there, it grew to include software engineering, information technology, radio-frequency engineering, radiation, aerospace engineering, graphic design, and blacksmithing experts.
“I was prototyping a plasma thruster design in my second bedroom workshop,” says Faler. “NASA’s challenge was specifically looking for wild ideas from citizen scientists – not your traditional degree or institution scientists – and that appealed to me.”
Photo collage: Team Miles integrates their CubeSat into a dispenser for the Orion stage adapter. The Orion stage adapter connects the SLS rocket to Orion and had slots built into it for the payloads.Credits: NASA/KSC
During the challenge’s ground test phases, Team Miles developed its Miles CubeSat, a breadbox-sized satellite propelled with a novel water-fueled plasma thruster. The team also created and radiation-tested its Resilient Affordable CubeSat Processor flight computer to communicate in deep space.
In total, NASA awarded $100,000 to Team Miles in the ground phase of the Cube Quest challenge. Despite not winning the in-space phase of the challenge due to a communications failure after launch, Faler emphasizes the value of participation extending beyond monetary awards, showcasing the team’s resilience and determination.
“The challenge generated publicity and public awareness for a wild idea. The fact that NASA looked at the idea and helped us advance it gave us a platform to talk to people. That is huge for these challenges – the opportunity to be heard,” says Faler.
Since the challenge ended, Faler has cofounded and become the CEO of Miles Space, Inc., a company that was born out of the innovative spirit of Team Miles. In January 2024, Miles Space was acquired by RocketStar, Inc., where Faler now serves as chief technology officer. Stemming from iterations of Faler’s original thruster, the company has developed a nuclear fusion propulsion system, a testament to the profound impact of the Cube Quest competition on commercial space technology.
As for words of wisdom for future challenge participants, Faler said, “Whether you place in the challenge or not, you haven’t lost time by participating. Being part of that process forces you to grow.”
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