HD 189733 b, an exoplanet located 64 light-years from Earth, has been found to have an atmosphere that smells like rotten eggs, according to a recent study published in the journal Nature. The planet, which is a gas giant similar in size to Jupiter, has trace amounts of hydrogen sulfide in its atmosphere, causing an unpleasant odour.
HD 189733 b is classified as a hot Jupiter planet, meaning it is a gas giant with extremely high temperatures due to its close proximity to its star.The planet orbits its star in just 2.2 days, resulting in a surface temperature of 1,700 degrees Fahrenheit. In contrast, Jupiter, the gas giant in our solar system, takes about 12 Earth years to orbit the sun.
NASA has described HD 189733 b as a “nightmare world” and a “killer you never see coming.” The planet’s atmosphere is not only laced with glass that rains down, but it also experiences winds that blow up to 5,400 miles an hour. “Getting caught in the rain on this planet is more than an inconvenience; it’s death by a thousand cuts,” according to NASA.
The James Webb Space Telescope has been instrumental in studying HD 189733 b, which was first discovered in 2005.
Researchers believe that the discovery of hydrogen sulfide in the planet’s atmosphere provides new insights into how sulfur could influence the formation and composition of gas worlds outside of Earth’s solar system.
Guangwei Fu, an astrophysicist at Johns Hopkins University who led the research, said, “We’re not looking for life on this planet because it’s way too hot, but finding hydrogen sulfide is a stepping stone for finding this molecule on other planets and gaining more understanding of how different types of planets form.”
The research team plans to continue studying sulfur in other exoplanets to better understand their formation and composition.