EXO-PLANETS: Iron Rain (WASP-76b)

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"WASP-76b is tidally-locked to its star. It takes as long to rotate around its axis as it does to go around the star.

On its day side, the planet receives thousands of times more radiation from its parent star than the Earth does from the Sun. It’s so hot that molecules separate into atoms, and metals like iron evaporate into the atmosphere.
The extreme temperature difference between the day and night sides results in vigorous winds that bring the iron vapor from the ultrahot day side to the cooler night side, where temperatures decrease to around 2,732 degrees Fahrenheit.
Not only does WASP-76b have different day-night temperatures, it also has distinct day-night chemistry.

“One could say that this planet gets rainy in the evening, except it

rains iron,” said Professor David Ehrenreich.
“This strange phenomenon happens because the iron rain planet only ever shows one face, its day side, to its parent star, its cooler night side remaining in perpetual darkness.”
“Surprisingly, however, we do not see the iron vapor in the morning. The reason is that it is raining iron on the night side of this extreme exoplanet,” Professor Ehrenreich said.
“A fraction of this iron is injected into the night side owing to the planet’s rotation and atmospheric winds. There, the iron encounters much cooler environments, condenses and rains down.”
SciNews