exoplanet Named LTT9779 b, it was first spotted during NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) mission in 2020, but it was not known at the time that it could reflect high amounts of light. It was later detected by the European Space Agency’s The Characterizing Exoplanet Satellite (CHEOPS).
Scientists have found that LTT9779 b is comparable in size to the solar system’s Neptune. It will become the largest ‘mirror’ in the universe, reflecting up to 80% of the light from its stars, while Earth reflects only about 30% of the sun.
The most reflective Venus is about 75 percent, but the oddity is that LTT9779 b orbits very close to its parent star. and takes only 19 hours to complete one orbit That means it’s constantly burning at high heat. It is therefore believed that such a planet would be a giant boulder with nothing.
“It’s a planet that shouldn’t exist,” said French researcher Vivien Parmentier. Its atmosphere will be completely blown away by its own star. and left behind only an empty stone.”
But why does it reflect so much light? For the most part, regular planets have low reflectivity. This amount of reflected light is known to scientists as ‘albedo’. “thick atmosphere” such as Venus or an icy planet like Neptune
LTT9779 b was initially expected to have a low albedo because it was constantly burned at around 2000 °C. It’s too hot to form a cloud of water. (Which is a constituent of the atmosphere) or even metal clouds themselves.
“It’s been a mystery for a long time. Until we realized when we thought of cloud formation the same way condensation forms in a bathroom after a hot shower,” says Parmentier. She explains that steam in bathrooms can be produced in two ways: condensing cold air. Or keep the hot water running until clouds form.
It was caused by the air being saturated with vapor to its peak and could no longer be contained. Likewise, LTT9779 b is also able to form an atmosphere with metallic clouds that evaporate from extreme heat and generate vapor from silicates and metals.
“Imagine a world in flames close to a star. A thick metallic cloud floated high. And the titanium was falling,” said James Jenkins, an astronomer from Chile.
The research team believes that these reflective metallic clouds are protecting the planet from sweltering environments. Still, its high metallicity gives LTT9779 b a heavy, heavy atmosphere filled with boiling metal rain. Until probably unable to support any life
Searched and edited by Vitit Borompichaichatkul
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