Nature never ceases to amaze, as humans look around more and more, there are ever more surprises. This one caught my eye - astronomers have found a planet called Wasp-76b, some 390 light years away (which is really close!). It is a "hot Jupiter" planet, meaning it is big, nearly twice as big as Jupiter, in an orbit really close to its star. The sunny side is over 4000 C, which is hot enough to melt and vaporize iron. Any iron in the atmosphere, such as iron dust, melts and actually can become an iron vapor! Now, as the planet rotates, on the dark side of the planet, it is cool enough for that iron vapor to condense and form droplets heavy enough to fall...this planet should have iron rain!! I don't know if anyone has ever come up with this idea in any science fiction, but now it looks like the strangeness and creativity of nature never lets up!
If someone is looking for something to do over spring break and our isolation, change the lyrics of "Purple Rain" (by Prince), and make a new song, "Iron Rain." 😉
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