Scientists Find Hydrogen Sulfide Beyond Our Solar System For The First Time On A Planet With Glass Rain...

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An exoplanet the size of Jupiter has long intrigued astronomers because of its scorching temperatures, screaming winds and sideways rain made of glass. Now, data from the James Webb Space Telescope has revealed another intriguing feature of the planet known as HD 189733b : It smells like rotten eggs.

Researchers studying HD 189733b's atmosphere used Webb's observation to spot trace amounts of hydrogen sulfide — a colorless gas that releases a strong sulfuric stench and has never been spotted beyond our solar system. The discovery advances what's known about the potential composition of exoplanets.

"HD 189733 b is not only a gas giant planet, but also a 'giant' in the field of exoplanets because it is one of the first transiting exoplanets ever discovered," said lead study author Guangwei Fu, an astrophysicist at Johns Hopkins University, in an email. "It is the anchor point for many of our understanding of exoplanet atmospheric chemistry and physics."

The planet is about 10% larger than Jupiter, but much hotter because it is 13 times closer to its star than Mercury is to our sun. HD 189733b only takes about two Earth days to complete a single orbit around its star, Fu said.

That proximity to the star gives the planet a searing average temperature of 1,700 degrees Fahrenheit (926 degrees Celsius) and strong winds that send glass-like silicate particles raining sideways from high clouds around the planet at 5,000 miles per hour (8,046 kilometers per hour).

When astronomers decided to use the Webb telescope to study the planet to see what infrared light, which is invisible to the human eye, could reveal in HD 189733b's atmosphere, they were in for a surprise.

"Hydrogen sulfide is one of the main reservoirs of sulfur within planetary atmospheres," Fu said. "The high precision and infrared capability from (the Webb telescope) allow us to detect hydrogen sulfide for the first time on exoplanets, which opens a new spectral window into studying exoplanet atmospheric sulfur chemistry. This helps us to understand what exoplanets are made of and how they came to be."