Cloudy, with a risk of liquid iron rain

摘要

AN exoplanet similar to Jupiter could have the ultimate bad weather: iron rain. "It showcases probably one of the most extreme planetary climates we've ever seen," says David Ehrenreich at the University of Geneva in Switzerland. The planet, called WASP-76b, is about 390 light years away from our solar system. It is a gas giant similar to Jupiter, but with a much shorter orbit around its star, taking fewer than two Earth days to circle it. The same side of the planet always faces its star, and because it is orbiting so close, the day side is about 1000℃ hotter than the night side, reaching temperatures of about 2400℃.