- Astronomers at Johns Hopkins University found that a distant planet smells like rotten eggs
- This finding might help scientists understand more about the building blocks of planets
- Planet is also known for its bizarre weather that would be deadly for humans
Here’s some news that really stinks – a distant planet smells like rotten eggs, according to astronomers.
Research by astronomers at Johns Hopkins University, studying data from the James Webb Space Telescope, found that the atmosphere of the catchily-named planet HD 189733 b, a gas giant roughly the same size as Jupiter, has trace amounts of hydrogen sulfide. As those who paid attention in science classes know, this gives off a smell of rotten eggs.
But this finding isn’t just about smells – the molecule is a building block of planets, and this might help our understanding of gas worlds beyond our own solar system.
Guangwei Fu, an astrophysicist at Johns Hopkins who led the research, said that they weren’t looking for life on the planet – it is far too hot – but finding hydrogen sulfide on it is a stepping stone to finding it on others and gaining more understanding of how different types of planets form.
“Sulfur is a vital element for building more complex molecules, and – like carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and phosphate – scientists need to study it more to fully understand how planets are made and what they are made of,” he said.
HD 189733 b is 64 light years from Earth and was discovered in 2005. The planet it about 13 times closer to its star than Mercury is to our sun and takes two days to orbit it. The planet has temperatures of 1,700 degrees Fahrenheit and is known for vicious weather – including raining glass, which is blown sideways by winds of 5,000mph.
The results of the research was published in the journal Nature.
