The astronomers, who published their findings in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, used a telescope in Chile to examine the weather systems in the distant planet – called PSO J318.5-22 – which is a juvenile in comparison to Earth.
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This discovery was quite a surprise for astronomers as the fact that this planet was not orbiting a star could mean that the planet could have been thrust out of a solar system shortly after its formation.
Researchers captured hundreds of infra-red images of the object rotating over five hours.
Because PSO J318.5-22 does not circle around a star, they were able to accurately measure changes in brightness in comparison to neighboring objects.
A team from the University of Edinburgh mapped the weather pattern of a distant planet and it doesn’t sound pleasant.
Currently, the alien planet, PSO J318.5-22, has beendrifting through space. The clouds are super hot, with temperatures inside them exceeding 800°C.
PSO J318.5-22 is a weird, weird object.
Even though it would seem like having no nearby star would make the object harder to see, it actually allowed the team to make more accurate measurements – with no star to emit light, the astronomers were able to measure the brightness of the object with very little interference from outside light sources.
Now, after the latest discovery by astronomers from the University of Edinburgh, the odd planet has become even stranger.
Such techniques may eventually be applicable to cooler, lower-mass planets, which are more likely to be capable of supporting life, researchers say. Researchers hope to adapt the technique so they can study planets that do orbit stars.
Apart from researcher from the University of Edinburgh, the study included researchers from the USA, France, Germany and Spain.
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Citation: “VARIABILITY IN A YOUNG, L/T TRANSITION PLANETARY-MASS OBJECT”, Beth A. Biller, Johanna Vos, Mariangela Bonavita, Esther Buenzli, Claire Baxter, Ian J.M. Crossfield, Katelyn Allers, Michael C. Liu, Mickaël Bonnefoy and Niall Deacon.
