Astronomers Discover Silicon Monoxide Gas on Remote Planet

(MENAFN) For the first time ever, scientists have identified silicon monoxide gas within the atmosphere of a planet located 850 light-years away from Earth—a discovery unprecedented across all planets, including those in our solar system.

In a statement released Monday by the University of Newcastle in Australia, this breakthrough provides remarkable new understanding of the atmospheric composition and origins of the exoplanet WASP-121b, also called Tylos.

First found in 2015, Tylos is an ultra-hot gas giant comparable in size to Jupiter but with temperatures soaring above 2,500 degrees Celsius, the university explained.

An international collaboration led by Tom Evans-Soma from the University of Newcastle, involving 18 research organizations from Australia, Germany, the U.S., the U.K., and India, utilized NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to monitor the planet continuously for 40 hours—marking the most extensive observation of a full exoplanet orbit to date.

Capturing over 3,500 individual exposures at roughly one-minute intervals, the team gathered detailed data on the atmospheric conditions of both the day and night sides, according to their report.

While they confirmed the presence of anticipated gases like water vapor and carbon monoxide, the unexpected discovery of silicon monoxide and methane—rare for such scorching environments—poses a challenge to prevailing atmospheric models, Evans-Soma remarked.

Their findings imply that Tylos originally formed in a cold, ice-rich region filled with rocky material before migrating closer to its star. The intense heat there vaporized rocks into silicon monoxide, effectively making Tylos a planet born in ice and forged in fire, he said.

Although Tylos itself cannot support life, the research enhances methods for detecting atmospheric markers, potentially accelerating the hunt for Earth-like planets harboring signs of life, Evans-Soma added.

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