The bizarre NASA discovery was made an incredible 900 light-years away from Earth in the WASP-121 system. The planet, dubbed WASP-121b, is a football-shaped gas giant sitting incredibly close to its host star. Unusually for a gas giant, NASA said the “strange world” is leaking heavy metal gases of iron and magnesium from its atmosphere. The heavy metals are elements heavier than hydrogen and helium that escape the planet rather than coalesce into clouds
NASA said: “Observations by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope reveal magnesium and iron gas streaming from the strange world outside our solar system known as WASP-121b.
“The observations represent the first time so-called ‘heavy metals’ – elements heavier than hydrogen and helium – have been spotted escaping from a hot Jupiter, a large, gaseous exoplanet very close to its star.”
Typically, gas giants like our very own Jupiter are cool enough internally for these heavier elements to condense into clouds.
WASP-121b is an exception to this rule because of how close it is to its star.
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According to NASA, the planet orbits its star from a “dangerously close” distance.
The proximity results in WASP-121b’s atmosphere burning at a scorching 4,600F degrees (2,538C).
David Sing of the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, who led the study of WASP-121b, said: “Heavy metals have been seen in other hot Jupiters before, but only in the lower atmosphere.
“So you don’t know if they’re escaping or not. With WASP-121b, we see magnesium and iron gas so far away from the planet that they’re not gravitationally bound.”
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Ultraviolet rays from the WASP-121 star are considerably hotter and brighter than the UV radiation from our own Sun.
As a result, the planet heats up to a point where the heavy metals can escape the planet’s atmosphere.
The venting magnesium and iron gases may even further contribute to the planet’s heating.
Dr Sing said: “These metals will make the atmosphere more opaque in the ultraviolet, which could be contributing to the heating of the upper atmosphere.”
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But the sweltering temperatures are the least of the planet’s worries.
WASP-121b is so close to its host star, the gas giant risks being torn apart by the gravitational forces of the star.
The results in the planet’s unusual football-like shape.
Dr Sing said: “We picked this planet because it is so extreme. We thought we had a chance of seeing heavier elements escaping.
“It is so hot and so favourable to observe, it’s the best shot at finding the presence of heavy metals.
“We were mainly looking for magnesium, but there have been hints of iron in the atmosphere of other exoplanets.
“It was a surprise though, to see it so clearly in the data and at such great altitudes so far away from the planet.
“The heavy metals are escaping partly because the planet is so big and puffy that its gravity is relatively weak.
“This planet is being actively stripped of its atmosphere.”
The WASP-121b study was published in the journal The Astronomical Journal.