stratosphere tagged posts

Researchers have found that a “hot Jupiter” exoplanet named WASP-121b (left) has a stratosphere hot enough to boil iron. The planet is as close to its host star (right) as possible without the star’s gravity ripping the planet apart. Credit: Engine House VFX, At-Bristol Science Centre, University of Exeter

Distant ‘hot Jupiter’ has a stratosphere hot enough to boil iron. Scientists have found compelling evidence for a stratosphere on an enormous planet outside our solar system. The planet’s stratosphere – a layer of atmosphere where temperature increases with higher altitudes – is hot enough to boil iron. WASP-121b, located ~900 light years from Earth, is a gas giant exoplanet commonly referred to as a “hot Jupiter.”

An international team of researchers, led by the University of Exeter wit...