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A WORLD THAT RAINS GLASS

Silicate clouds under a star that never sets.

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stage 01

THE BLUE WORLD

HD 189733 b appears deep blue because of its atmosphere, not because it has oceans. It is a hot Jupiter — a gas giant orbiting close to its star, with no solid surface on which to stand.

stage 02

AN EXTREME ATMOSPHERE

The atmosphere is extremely hot. Observations and models indicate winds moving at several thousand miles per hour, carrying heat rapidly around the planet.

stage 03

SILICATE HAZE

Its colour is consistent with clouds or haze containing silicate particles. The widely used image of glass raining sideways is an inference from atmospheric evidence and modelling, not weather directly filmed there.

stage 04

NO PLACE TO LAND

Pressure and temperature rise as you descend into the gas giant. There is no known solid boundary beneath the clouds — only an atmosphere becoming denser and less familiar.

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