Heavy metal may rain from the skies of planet WASP 76b

Astronomers observed evidence of iron rain on the ultrahot gas giant

illustration of the surface of a dark, rainy exoplanet

To be rain ready on WASP 76b, you’d probably need to pack more than an umbrella. This extreme exoplanet’s showers appear to consist of iron raindrops, as seen in this illustration.

M. Kornmesser/ESO

On one distant world, “heavy metal” could be a weather forecast.