Astronomers at Northwestern University say they have found evidence of salt clouds surrounding the famously colorful “Pink Planet,” offering a new look at one of the most intriguing worlds ever directly imaged.
First identified in 2013, the striking planet is among the coldest celestial objects scientists have captured through direct imaging. For years, however, it remained too dim for detailed study using Earth-based instruments.
That changed with observations from the James Webb Space Telescope, which have now strengthened a theory researchers first proposed more than 15 years ago: that the “Pink Planet” contains salt clouds in its atmosphere.
“The Pink Planet is the coldest companion ever discovered using ground-based instruments,” said Aneesh Baburaj of Northwestern, who led the study.
“Many teams all around the world performed follow-up observations to study its light, but it was too faint for ground-based instruments. That made it a perfect target,” Baburaj continued.
“When we finally obtained its spectrum, it immediately looked interesting. But once we started digging deeper into the data, we realized it was not like anything we had analyzed before.”
The study found that the planet’s atmospheric data included a blend of water vapor, methane, carbon dioxide, ammonia and other molecules.
But when researchers attempted to model the planet’s atmosphere, the simulations failed to line up with the observations unless unusual salt-related features were included.
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“We ran simulations with clouds, and the results aligned with what we know about cold planets,” Baburaj said.
“We tried three different types of clouds, and salt clouds fit best. When we accounted for salt clouds, it subdued the signature of molecules hidden deeper in the companion’s atmosphere. Then, the results became physically possible.”
NASA said the Pink Planet was first discovered in 2013, and is known as GJ 504 b. The exoplanet orbits a sun-like star about 57 light-years from Earth.
A plane traveling about 600 miles per hour would be there in 64 million years, NASA said.
“If we could travel to this giant planet, we would see a world still glowing from the heat of its formation with a color reminiscent of a dark cherry blossom, a dull magenta,” NASA said.
Despite its nickname, researchers aren’t certain that it is actually a planet.
This discovery could help scientists unlock other mysteries about cold planets, such as Jupiter, which has clouds of ammonia ice.
“This is the first time we’ve found that salt clouds are critical to explaining the spectrum of an object,” Baburaj said.
“It’s a good reminder to account for clouds in our models.”
