Discovering LTT9779b: The Brightest Exoplanet with Metal Clouds Revealed

2023-07-10 13:08:00
Scientists have spotted the brightest planets ever outside the solar system, according to a study published Monday, the results of which revealed a burning world in which metal clouds rain droplets of titanium. This strange exoplanet, which is located more than 260 light years from Earth, reflects 80% of the light of its star. The host, according to new observations from the European space telescope “Cubes”. This is the first planet outside the solar system comparable to the brightness of Venus, and it is the brightest object in the night sky of our planet, with the exception of the moon. This exoplanet discovered in the year 2020, which is the size of Neptune, bears the name LTT9779b And it revolves around its star in only 19 hours. Because of this proximity, the temperature of its luminous face reaches 2000 degrees, a temperature that is considered too high to allow the formation of clouds. However, the reflection of LTT9779b indicates the presence of clouds. It was “a real mystery,” said Vivien Parmentier, a researcher at the Côte d’Azur Observatory and co-author of the study, whose results were published in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics. Then, “the researchers looked at the formation of these clouds in the same way that condensation occurs in a bathroom following a hot shower,” the researcher explained in a statement. Including glass – to oversaturation of the atmosphere of planet LTT9779b until metal clouds were formed. – Shield – But the planet hid other surprises. In the past, the only exoplanets known to orbit their star so quickly (in less than 24 hours) were either gas giants 10 times larger than Earth, or rocky planets regarding half the size of Earth. Exoplanet LTT9779b is regarding five times the size of Earth. And it is located in an area that astronomers call the “hot desert of Neptune”, where “planets of this size are not supposed to exist”, according to Parmentier. In addition, astronomers were expecting that such a planet “sees its atmosphere being blown away by its star” that is very close to it, “Leaving behind bare rocks.” And they found the explanation for this, which is that “the metal clouds of LTT9779b act as a mirror,” reflecting light and preventing the atmosphere from volatilization, according to Maximilian Guenther, chief scientist of the “Cubes” project at the European Space Agency. Guinter told AFP that the clouds acted as a “shield”, like the shields that protected “spacecraft in the old Star Trek series”. The researcher noted that this represented an “important step” by showing how a planet the size of Neptune might live in A similar environment. The European Space Agency’s Cubes space telescope was sent in 2019 to characterize the planets discovered outside our solar system. The telescope measured the reflective power of LTT9779b by comparing the light before and following the exoplanet disappeared behind its star.
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