Astronomers reveal strange clouds on 'fluffy' alien planet WASP-127b

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Astronomers reveal WASP-127b's clouds are unlike any found on Earth.

Astronomers reveal strange clouds on 'fluffy' alien planet WASP-127b : Read more

 

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"With regards to its orbit, the exoplanet is unlike any planet in our solar system. Using data from the ESPRESSO instrument, the researchers also suggest that WASP-127b not only orbits in the opposite direction than its star but also orbits in a different plane than the equatorial one. This could be an indication that WASP-127b is not alone. "Such alignment is unexpected for a hot Saturn in an old stellar system and might be caused by an unknown companion," Allart said in the statement."

Exoplanet studies keep turning up some weird objects now compared to our solar system and ecliptic configuration and arrangement.

A Pileup of Perpendicular Planets

In some planetary systems, the direction that a star spins and the direction its planets orbit don’t always line up.

skyandtelescope.org

The paper cited, A Preponderance of Perpendicular Planets, https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/ac0f03, 16-July-2021. I note the S&T report ends with:

"What could cause this polar pileup? The authors propose several theoretical possibilities that include dynamical interactions between the planet and the star, or between the planet and an additional unseen, distant companion body. But, as we’ve seen, nature has a mind of its own — and there may be multiple mechanisms at work! We don’t yet have enough information to solve this puzzle with certainty, but a continued search for patterns is sure to point us in the right direction eventually."

The whole subject of gas clouds collapsing to form spinning disks that evolve into planets and planetary systems is a challenge to model and explain.