An artist illustration of exoplanet WASP-62b. The illustration is drawn from the perspective of an observer nearby to the planet. Astronomers at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian have detected the first Jupiter-like planet without clouds or haze in its observable atmosphere. Named WASP-62b, the gas giant was first detected in 2012 through the Wide Angle Search for Planets (WASP) South survey. Its atmosphere, however, had never been closely studied until now.
Client
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Project Type
Science visualization
Category
Astrophysics
Credit
M.Weiss/CfA
Munazza K. Alam and Mercedes Lopez- Morales sent this image as inspiration for the transparent atmosphere of the Jupiter-like planet.
Munazza did some calculations using Wein’s law to reveal that the color of the planet corresponded to the mid-infrared wavelength range. While this is not visible to the naked eye, this darker red was chosen to represent that wavelength.