James Webb Space Telescope determined climate of dwarf planets

By Alimat Aliyeva

Astronomers have prepared the most detailed report on the climate of two distant minor planets outside our Solar system. The first such international study examined the extreme atmospheric conditions on dwarf planets covered with hot sand clouds rotating at a temperature of 950 degrees Celsius, Azernews reports.

Researchers using NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) set out to determine weather conditions on a pair of brown dwarfs - cosmic bodies smaller than planets, but more stars. These brown dwarfs, collectively called WISE 1049AB, are about 6 light-years away and are the brightest and closest objects to Earth.

The team monitored the atmosphere of each brown dwarf by measuring the light waves emitted from its surface and recorded temperature changes in regions with more or less clouds. By visualizing this data using light curves, the astronomers were also able to create a graph showing how the brightness of light from each object changes over time — a detailed three-dimensional representation of how the atmospheres of brown dwarfs change during full rotation.

The team also demonstrated how the light from each object varies depending on wavelength, the presence of water, methane and carbon dioxide in their atmospheres and their complex interactions. By observing the infrared portion of the light spectrum, JWST can also observe wavelengths of light that are blocked by our own atmosphere. This opportunity opens up new horizons in the study of the universe, star formation and exoplanets such as brown dwarfs outside the Solar System.

The latest research builds on previous studies, which were limited to obtaining static images of the atmospheres of brown dwarfs from only one side. According to the researchers, this approach is limited because brown dwarfs rotate relatively quickly and their atmosphere can change dramatically over time.

The discoveries of astronomers will open the way to more detailed studies of brown dwarfs and other distant celestial bodies. The results of the study, published in the monthly bulletin of the British Royal Astronomical Society, were announced by the University of Edinburgh in collaboration with scientists from the University of Virginia in the United States and other institutions around the world.

Astronomers believe that improved methods of the research process can make it possible to determine the climatic conditions on planets orbiting other stars, as well as on habitable planets.