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WASP-96b
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<h2 id="atmosphere">Atmosphere</h2> <p>WASP-96b's spectrum was one of the images featured in the initial science release from the <a href="/facts/James_Webb_Space_Telescope/w4GAWnWX">James Webb Space Telescope</a> in July 2022.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a> The spectrum confirmed the presence of <a href="/facts/Water/0lkXnJPK">water</a>, as well as providing evidence for "clouds and hazes" within the planet's atmosphere.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a> Prior to this discovery, WASP-96b was thought to be free of <a href="/facts/Cloud/KDgo0Wqu">clouds</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a> </p><p>While the light curve released confirms properties of the planet that had already been determined from other observations – the existence, size, and orbit of the planet – the transmission spectrum revealed previously hidden details of the atmosphere: the unambiguous signature of water, indications of haze, and evidence of clouds that were suspected based on prior observations.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a> </p><p>A study in 2023 measured the abundance of certain chemical species in the atmosphere of WASP-96b as seen in the table below.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a> Models of the atmosphere with patchy clouds and hazes best describes the observations through the <a href="/facts/James_Webb_Space_Telescope/w4GAWnWX">James Webb Space Telescope</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a> </p> <table><tbody><tr><th>Chemical Species<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a></th><th>log(VMR)<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11"><sup>11</sup></a></th><th>Concentration</th></tr><tr><td><a href="/facts/Water_vapor/DX5IUFG0">Water vapor</a></td><td>-3.59+0.35−0.35</td><td>257 ppm</td></tr><tr><td><a href="/facts/Carbon_monoxide/CKuLtEMJ">Carbon monoxide</a></td><td>-3.25+0.91−5.06</td><td>562 ppm</td></tr><tr><td><a href="/facts/Carbon_dioxide/xGzpppEp">Carbon dioxide</a></td><td>-4.38+0.47−0.57</td><td>41.7 ppm</td></tr><tr><td><a href="/facts/Sodium/eYuSPu2V">Sodium</a></td><td>-6.85+2.48−3.10</td><td>141 ppb</td></tr><tr><td><a href="/facts/Potassium/5lcumVgo">Potassium</a></td><td>-8.04+1.22−1.71</td><td>9.12 ppb</td></tr></tbody></table> <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Wide_Angle_Search_for_Planets/fp58Y205">Wide Angle Search for Planets</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/List_of_exoplanets_discovered_in_2013/AtphNx3B">List of exoplanets discovered in 2013</a></li></ul> <h2 id="external-links">External links</h2> <p> Media related to WASP-96 b at Wikimedia Commons </p> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>"NASA's Webb Reveals Steamy Atmosphere of Distant Planet in Detail". NASA. 11 July 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2022. <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/goddard/2022/nasa-s-webb-reveals-steamy-atmosphere-of-distant-planet-in-detail" target="_blank">https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/goddard/2022/nasa-s-webb-reveals-steamy-atmosphere-of-distant-planet-in-detail</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>Hellier, Coel; Anderson, D. R.; Cameron, A. Collier; Delrez, L.; Gillon, M.; Jehin, E.; Lendl, M.; Maxted, P. F. L.; Pepe, F.; Pollacco, D.; Queloz, D.; Ségransan, D.; Smalley, B.; Smith, A. M. S.; Southworth, J.; Triaud, A. H. M. J.; Udry, S.; West, R. G. (2013), "Transiting hot Jupiters from WASP-South, Euler and TRAPPIST: WASP-95b to WASP-101b", Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 440 (3): 1982–1992, arXiv:1310.5630, Bibcode:2014MNRAS.440.1982H, doi:10.1093/mnras/stu410 <a href="/wiki/ArXiv_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/ArXiv_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Cesari, Thaddeus (2022-07-11). "NASA Shares List of Cosmic Targets for Webb Telescope's First Images". NASA. Archived from the original on 2022-07-12. Retrieved 2022-07-12. <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2022/nasa-shares-list-of-cosmic-targets-for-webb-telescope-s-first-images" target="_blank">https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2022/nasa-shares-list-of-cosmic-targets-for-webb-telescope-s-first-images</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>"NASA's Webb Reveals Steamy Atmosphere of Distant Planet in Detail". NASA. 11 July 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2022. <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/goddard/2022/nasa-s-webb-reveals-steamy-atmosphere-of-distant-planet-in-detail" target="_blank">https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/goddard/2022/nasa-s-webb-reveals-steamy-atmosphere-of-distant-planet-in-detail</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>Jorgenson, Amber (2018-05-08). "WASP-96b: the cloudless exoplanet". Astronomy.com. Retrieved 2022-07-08. <a href="https://astronomy.com/news/2018/05/the-cloudless-exoplanet" target="_blank">https://astronomy.com/news/2018/05/the-cloudless-exoplanet</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>McGruder, Chima D.; López-Morales, Mercedes; Kirk, James; Espinoza, Néstor; Rackham, Benjamin V.; Alam, Munazza K.; Allen, Natalie; Nikolov, Nikolay; Weaver, Ian C.; Ortiz Ceballos, Kevin; Osip, David J.; Apai, Dániel; Jordán, Andrés; Fortney, Jonathan J. (2022), "ACCESS: Confirmation of a Clear Atmosphere for WASP-96b and a Comparison of Light Curve Detrending Techniques", The Astronomical Journal, 164 (4): 134, arXiv:2207.03479, Bibcode:2022AJ....164..134M, doi:10.3847/1538-3881/ac7f2e, S2CID 250334756 <a href="/wiki/ArXiv_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/ArXiv_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>Samra, D.; Helling, Ch.; Chubb, K. L.; Min, M.; Carone, L.; Schneider, A. D. (2023), "Clouds form on the hot Saturn JWST ERO target WASP-96b", Astronomy & Astrophysics, 669: A142, arXiv:2211.00633, Bibcode:2023A&A...669A.142S, doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202244939, S2CID 253244425 <a href="/wiki/ArXiv_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/ArXiv_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>Taylor, Jake; et al. (May 2023). "Awesome SOSS: Atmospheric Characterisation of WASP-96 b using the JWST Early Release Observations". MNRAS. 524 (1): 817–834. arXiv:2305.16887. Bibcode:2023MNRAS.524..817T. doi:10.1093/mnras/stad1547. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093%2Fmnras%2Fstad1547" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.1093%2Fmnras%2Fstad1547</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>Taylor, Jake; et al. (May 2023). "Awesome SOSS: Atmospheric Characterisation of WASP-96 b using the JWST Early Release Observations". MNRAS. 524 (1): 817–834. arXiv:2305.16887. Bibcode:2023MNRAS.524..817T. doi:10.1093/mnras/stad1547. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093%2Fmnras%2Fstad1547" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.1093%2Fmnras%2Fstad1547</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>Taylor, Jake; et al. (May 2023). "Awesome SOSS: Atmospheric Characterisation of WASP-96 b using the JWST Early Release Observations". MNRAS. 524 (1): 817–834. arXiv:2305.16887. Bibcode:2023MNRAS.524..817T. doi:10.1093/mnras/stad1547. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093%2Fmnras%2Fstad1547" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.1093%2Fmnras%2Fstad1547</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:11"><p>Taylor, Jake; et al. (May 2023). "Awesome SOSS: Atmospheric Characterisation of WASP-96 b using the JWST Early Release Observations". MNRAS. 524 (1): 817–834. arXiv:2305.16887. Bibcode:2023MNRAS.524..817T. doi:10.1093/mnras/stad1547. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093%2Fmnras%2Fstad1547" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.1093%2Fmnras%2Fstad1547</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>