Aster › Space program › WASP-76 b
WASP-76 b
Position on the route: 120/130 · level needed 2050 · journey (Mk0 engine) 412.4 h
By the numbers
| Distance | ≈ 640 light-years |
|---|---|
| Year | 1.81 days |
| Temperature | day side ≈ 2,400 °C |
| Mass | ≈ 0.9 Jupiter |
The story
WASP-76 b is an ultra-hot Jupiter: tidally locked to its star, about 2,400 °C on the day side. At that temperature iron boils. In 2020 ESPRESSO showed traces of iron vapour at the day–night boundary: winds carry the vapour to the night side, where it cools, condenses and ‘rains’ down as droplets.
It was the first time a chemical cycle was observed on an exoplanet: iron rain. Sodium, lithium, magnesium, calcium and other metals have also been found in the atmosphere.
Missions
- ESPRESSO (ESO VLT, 2020): iron rain
- Hubble and JWST observations
Colony note
A gas giant; no surface. An orbital station, Mk3 shield.
☠ 2,400 °C on the day side: iron boils off and rains on the night side. Only an orbital station.
What probes bring back
- An ultra-hot Jupiter: about 2,400 °C on the day side; ESPRESSO (2020) showed iron vapour condensing and falling on the night side: ‘iron rain’.
- A year of 1.8 days; tidally locked to its star, one side always lit.