The galaxy holds the most astonishing phenomena that seems impossible on Earth. In a recent observation by NASA with the help of James Webb space telescope, a Neptune-like planet that rains in sand. This planet was first discovered in 2017 and named Wasp-107b. Earlier, a major mathematical calculation explained diamond rain in Uranus and Neptune as these planets are made up of water, ammonia and methane.
Wasp-107b, which is 200 light years away in the Virgo constellation, has already attracted the interest of scientists due to its vast size yet lightweight, earning it the moniker “candy floss” planet. As fascinating as it sounds, the planet has sand clouds that maintain the temperature at very high degrees and the place smells of burnt-matches because of sulphur dioxide.
Interestingly, the scientists believe that there’s a lot more to discover about the planet. Prof Leen Decin, of the Catholic Institute (KU) Leuven, also the first author of the research says, “Our knowledge of other planets is based on what we know from Earth,” adding “That’s a very restricted knowledge.”
So far, the James Webb space telescope has made several discoveries making space knowledge more accurate. James Webb takes these studies a step further by detecting starlight filtered through the planet’s atmosphere. Because different elements absorb different wavelengths of light, the spectrum of starlight tells which gasses are present.
According to the latest observations made by scientists about the planet Wasp-107b, we have finally discovered the presence of water vapour and sulphur dioxide. For the first time the chemical composition of clouds on another planet has been identified by scientists, also called silicate sand. This silicon sand follows a similar pattern of water cycle like in the Earth.
Decin said, “The universe has so many surprises.” He adds, “I do envision that there may be various alternative ways for life to form on another planet. It might be very different from something you know here on Earth. We have to broaden our imaginations.”