NASA’s Hubble captures the ‘clearest view yet’ of the dark side of a Hot Jupiter exoplanet

Astronomers have obtained ‘the clearest view yet’ of the perpetual dark side of a ‘hot Jupiter’ exoplanet, which they claim hosts iron clouds, titanium rain and winds that dwarf Earth’s jetstream. 

The planet, called WASP-121b, is a massive gas giant nearly twice the size of Jupiter that is around 850 light years from Earth.     

WASP-121b has one of the shortest orbits detected to date, circling its star in just 30 hours. 

It is tidally locked, meaning the same side always faces its star, while its colder ‘night’ side is turned forever toward space. 

Researchers have determined how water changes physical states when moving between the hemispheres of WASP-121 b, based on data collected by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. 

While airborne metals and minerals evaporate on the hot…