Rogue Planet has Molten Iron Rain
Starless planet is hot enough to have exotic weather.
Dr. Beth Biller, a Chancellor's Fellow in the Institute of Astronomy at the University of Edinburgh, and her colleagues, have been studying a strange planet, bigger and more massive then Jupiter, that either formed independently or escaped its star. The planet is young and very hot, and by observing changes in its brightness over time, they have concluded that clouds sometimes obscure its face, and that the clouds indicate variations in temperature in the atmosphere.
Given that the temperature of the planet is on the order of 800°C, then the clouds are likely made of silicates and perhaps iron, meaning that a hard rain is going to fall.
Related Links
- Paper in The Astrophysical Journal
- University of Edinburgh release
- Science Magazine news story
- New Scientist story