Astronomers scope out planet where it rains jewels and clouds are made of vapourised metal
RAINY days are usually pretty miserable but that’s not the case on a distant planet where it could make you rich.
A massive exoplanet located 855 light-years away rains liquid rubies and sapphires, experts believe.
WASP-121 b, as the planet is known, is home to clouds of vaporised metals instead of the fluffy stuff like we have back here on Earth.
Clouds on the planet are mainly made up of metals like iron, magnesium, chromium and vanadium.
“This rain would be unlike any known in the Solar System,” scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy said.
“With impurities of chromium, iron, titanium or vanadium, we know it as ruby or sapphire.”
The team used the Hubble Space Telescope to carry out their research on the permanent night side of the planet.
But given the sheer distance and extreme temperatures, hope of harvesting the gems is nil.
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The night side may be cooler but even then it’s a baking hot at 1500 degrees.
That’s because WASP-121 b orbits very close to its Sun in just 1.27 days.
And for this reason, it’s also extremely doubtful that anything could even live on the planet.
It’s not the first to hide a stash of precious gems either.
Back in 2016, astronomers spotted another twinkling planet thought to hold a wealth of rubies and sapphires as well.
The research was published in the Nature Astronomy journal.
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