Scientists said this is the first time such a planet has been found so close to its star.
Astronomers have said that a planet located 264 light-years away from Earth is a “giant mirror in space”. According to WireThe exoplanet, named LTT9779b, was discovered in 2020 by the US space agency NASA and selected for follow-up observations by the European Space Agency (ESA). The planet orbits a Sun-like star every 19 hours and has reflective metallic clouds made of metals such as silicates and titanium. The planet reflects about 80 percent of the incoming light, the outlet further said in its report.
A research describing the planet is published in the journal astronomy and astrophysics,
“It’s a giant mirror in space,” said astronomer and co-author of the research Professor James Jenkins. Wire,
LTT9779b has a diameter 4.7 times that of Earth and orbits its Sun-like star at a greater distance than Mercury. The outlet further stated that it is 60 times closer to its star than Earth is to the Sun.
In our solar system, Venus is the brightest planet, reflecting 75 percent of the incoming light. It is surrounded by toxic clouds of sulfuric acid. Meanwhile, Earth reflects about 30 percent of the incoming light.
According to NASA websiteLTT9779b is a Neptune-like exoplanet and is 0.01679 AU (astronomical units) away from its star.
The observations on the exoplanet were made by ESA’s Cheops (Characterizing Exoplanet Satellite) mission.
“Imagine a burning world close to your star, floating in massive clouds of metals and raining down titanium,” study co-author James Jenkins of the University of Diego Portales in Santiago, Chile, said in a statement. Be.” published by CNN,
Most planets are not able to reflect light due to the rough surface of the land and its absorption by the terrain present on the planet. Venus, apart from Saturn’s moon Enceladus and Jupiter’s moon Europa, has no known exceptions.
Scientists said this is the first time such a planet has been found so close to its star.
Vivien Parmentier, researcher at the Observatory of the Côte d’Azur in Nice, France, was quoted as saying, “This is a planet that should not exist. We expect the atmosphere of such planets to be blown away by their star and Bare rocks will be left behind.” saying by CNN,
Researchers said the planet’s metal clouds are helping it to survive in such an unlikely location.