A Planet's Rotation Revealed Its Fiery Secrets ⚡ экспресс
Scientists have recorded for the first time how the spin of planet WASP-121 b alters its atmospheric signature. Picture it like a rotating shish kebab: as it turns, we see a scorching morning side where water breaks apart, and a cooler evening side where water persists. This ‘temperature recipe’ gives us a taste of the weather on faraway worlds.
The planet WASP-121 b is a gas giant, heated to 2500°C. It always faces its star with one side, like a globe frozen under a lamp. But as it passes in front of the star's disk, its rotation reveals different facets to us — as if that globe were slowly turned, letting us peer into every corner.
Using the James Webb Space Telescope, scientists applied the splitting of light into colors and noticed something odd: during transit, the light absorbed by water vapor weakens, while that by carbon monoxide strengthens. The secret is that the planet's eastern side is heated more fiercely and literally tears water molecules apart. Carbon monoxide, on the other hand, endures this inferno.
This approach turns a transit into a thermal scanner: previously, we only saw the day-night boundary, but now — temperature swings across the entire surface. This is a new way to read weather on distant worlds.
🎯 Strong winds carry heat from the hottest point eastward, so the eastern side is always hotter than the western — as if the planet is constantly blow-dried by a giant hairdryer.