Carbon Giant by a Dead Star ⚡ экспресс
The object PSR J2322-2650b, with the mass of Jupiter, orbiting a pulsar, is notable for its resemblance to hot Jupiters: a minimum density of 1.8 g/cm³ and an equilibrium temperature of ~1900 K. Observations of its emission spectrum by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) over a full orbit revealed an atmosphere rich in molecular carbon (C3, C2) and experiencing strong western winds. The C/O >100 and C/N >10,000 ratios exceed known values for exoplanets by several orders of magnitude. These data open up for study new regimes of exoplanet chemistry and dynamics — ultra-fast rotation under external irradiation. The extreme carbon enrichment poses a serious challenge to current "black widow" models, which assumed a more heterogeneous composition due to the origin of companions as stripped stellar cores.
Using the James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers peered at the pulsar PSR J2322-2650b — the superdense core of an exploded star. Orbiting it is a gas giant the size of Jupiter, heated to a glow of molten steel. This pair has been dubbed the 'black widow': the dead star siphons material from its companion.
The planet's spectrum delivered a shock: instead of water vapor, the atmosphere turned out to be soot — chains of two and three carbon atoms. Carbon is a hundred times more abundant than oxygen compared to normal, and ten thousand times more than nitrogen. Such carbon riches don't fit the 'black widow' model, where the companion should be a molten metallic core. Apparently, world-building around dead stars is far more mysterious than we thought.
🎯 Planet PSR J2322-2650b completes a full orbit around the pulsar in 3.3 hours — faster than any human-made satellite in low Earth orbit.