Webb Spots Chemical Weather on Brown Dwarfs ⚡ экспресс
Using NIRSpec on JWST, the spectral variability of the brown dwarf pair WISE 1049AB was studied. Component B shows stronger fluctuations than A. However, for A, the variability in absorption lines of methane (CH₄) and carbon monoxide (CO) is higher than that of water vapor (H₂O), even though they form at similar atmospheric pressure levels. This points not only to clouds but also to thermochemical instabilities — uneven rates of chemical reactions. A three-dimensional map of atmospheric dynamics, accounting for planetary waves, has been visualized.
Brown dwarfs are heavier than planets but lighter than stars. Their atmospheres resemble a bubbling pot: clouds of scorching sand and iron droplets rise and fall. The Webb Telescope long monitored the pair WISE 1049AB and, breaking their light into colors, noticed a puzzle: the warmer dwarf's light from methane and carbon monoxide pulses far more strongly than from water, even though all three originate from the same depth. Clouds aren't to blame—turbulent chemical reactions rage in the depths. Like a pot where some spices float faster than others when heated, these reactions speed up and stall, rippling the glow.
Additionally, gigantic waves course through the atmosphere—exactly like those that create weather on Earth, only without oceans or land. This chemical dance could be the key to forecasting climate on distant planets.
🎯 Similar chemical waves likely rage in Jupiter's atmosphere—we just can't see them directly.