Mysterious 'Dark Hydrogen' May Be Hiding Inside Giant Planets

Giant planets like Jupiter and Saturn may reportedly have strange dark hydrogen lurking within them. According to a new study, the mysterious hydrogen could be concealed between the gaseous hydrogen in the gas giant planets' clouds and the liquid metal hydrogen in their core.

"This dark hydrogen layer was unexpected and inconsistent with what modeling research had led us to believe about the change from hydrogen gas to metallic hydrogen inside of celestial objects," said Alexander Goncharov, co-author of the study and physicist at Washington DC's Carnegie Institution for Science. "This observation would explain how heat can easily escape from gas giants like Saturn".

According to the study, which was published in the journal Physical Review Letters, Goncharov and his team simulated a condition found inside Jupiter and Saturn by using a laser heated diamond anvil cell. The scientists discovered an intermediate phase of hydrogen after probing the element with temperatures as high as 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit and pressures that ranged from 10,000 to 1.5 million times that found in the atmosphere of our planet.

Uranus, Neptune, Saturn and Jupiter all have gaseous hydrogen atmospheres that reach up to their mantles, and a liquid metal hydrogen layer is located with the cores. According to the scientists, the dark hydrogen acts as the boundary between the gaseous and liquid metal hydrogen.

Incidentally dark hydrogen is called so because it does not reflect or transmit visible light; however infrared radiation is transmitted through it. The mysterious element has a slight metallic quotient and can carry out electric current, though not as good as liquid metal hydrogen. In addition, dark hydrogen might also play a part in the creation of magnetic fields around the outer solar system's planets. The study was a collaboration between researchers from Carnegie Institution and Howard University in Washington DC and Edinburgh University in Scotland.