The planet named Wasp-18b has a toxic atmosphere making it impossible for it to support life with an upper atmosphere swamped by toxic carbon monoxide.
NASA’s Kyle Sheppard, who led the study, said: “The composition of WASP-18b defies all expectations.
“We don’t know of any other extrasolar planet where carbon monoxide so completely dominates the upper atmosphere.”
The planet is unique among those observed by humans with NASA previously believing such a world could not exist.
The unexpected composition of the planet means it could redefine the way scientists think gas giants form.
vCard.red is a free platform for creating a mobile-friendly digital business cards. You can easily create a vCard and generate a QR code for it, allowing others to scan and save your contact details instantly.
The platform allows you to display contact information, social media links, services, and products all in one shareable link. Optional features include appointment scheduling, WhatsApp-based storefronts, media galleries, and custom design options.
Wasp-18b’s extremely close orbit to its star and lack of an Ozone adds to the hostile environment of the planet which is 10 times larger than our solar system’s biggest, Jupiter.
Scientists were able to discover the makeup of the planet’s atmosphere by examining the light reflecting off it with the Hubble space telescope.
But they were shocked when the results showed none of the materials they had expected to find, including a surprising absence of water.
Study co-author Nikku Madhusudhan said: “The only consistent explanation for the data is an overabundance of carbon monoxide and very little water vapour in the atmosphere of WASP-18b, in addition to the presence of a stratosphere.
“This rare combination of factors opens a new window into our understanding of physicochemical processes in exoplanetary atmospheres.”
The discovery of such a shocking world has NASA excited by the prospect of further investigating other undiscovered planets.
Exoplanet scientist Avi Mandell said: “The expected launch of the James Webb Space Telescope and other future space-based observatories will give us the opportunity to follow up with even more powerful instruments and to continue exploring the amazing array of exoplanets out there.”
The news follows amazing research that reveals life could exist in martian soil.
Worms have been born in an exciting scientific breakthrough in the Netherlands, researchers reveal.
Scientists have managed to simulate Martian soil in which two worms were recently born as experts set their sights on farming on the planet like Matt Damon did in the 2015 film Martian.
The birth of the worms in the mock Martian soil, made from volcanic terrestrial rocks, has given hope to scientists that farming on the planet may one day be possible.
Wieger Wamelink of Wageningen University & Research explained that live adult worms were added to the soil to assess their ability to cope with the unusual terrain and did not expect the experiment to lead to successful reproduction.
He said: “Clearly the manure stimulated growth, especially in the Mars soil simulant, and we saw that the worms were active.
“However, the best surprise came at the end of the experiment when we found two young worms in the Mars soil simulant.”