CUTE small probe studies most dangerous planets: Why is it important?

American astronomers from the University of Colorado in Boulder have, for the first time, obtained accurate information about atmospheric processes on "hot Jupiters," thanks to the small space probe CUTE launched in 2021. The research has been published in The Astronomical Journal.

The CUTE mission, which stands for "Colorado Ultraviolet Transit Experiment," is designed to study planets that are inhospitable to life, so far known to humanity.

The CUTE probe is a compact device about 35 centimeters long, equipped with an ultraviolet (UV) telescope. It observes distant planets as they pass in front of their stars, causing the UV radiation from these celestial bodies to dim. In some cases, the spacecraft is so precise that it can detect when the starlight dims by just 1%.

Hot Jupiters are gas giants similar to Jupiter in our solar system, but they may be hotter than the Sun.

For instance, the CUTE instrument was able to study the planet WASP-189b, located more than 300 light-years from Earth in the constellation Libra. The temperature of this celestial body exceeded 8300°C, which is approximately 2800°C hotter than our star. CUTE observations also revealed that gas is escaping from the depths of WASP-189b at a rate of about 400,000 tons per second.

The CUTE team has already observed seven hot Jupiters, and more planets of this class are expected to be discovered in the near future. Scientists hope that these observations will help them understand why some planets lose their atmospheres while others maintain them in nearly unchanged form. This knowledge could be valuable within our own solar system. In particular, astronomers believe that Mars once had a dense atmosphere, but over billions of years, the Sun destroyed it through its influence.