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Reflective

All articles tagged with #reflective

astronomy2 years ago•3 min saved

"Cheops Discovers Highly Reflective Exoplanet: A Mirror in Space"

Astronomers have discovered the most reflective exoplanet outside of our Solar System, named LTT9779b. This Neptune-sized planet reflects 80% of the light from its host star, making it as shiny as Venus. Despite its scorching temperatures, LTT9779b has managed to form metallic clouds that act as a mirror, preventing its atmosphere from being blown away. This finding challenges previous assumptions about the survival of Neptune-sized planets in the "Neptune desert" region. The observations were made by the Cheops space telescope.

via Phys.org|

#astronomy #cheops #cloud-formation

astronomy2 years ago•4 min saved

Webb Telescope Examines Enigmatic Sub-Neptune Planet

The James Webb Space Telescope has revealed that the enigmatic planet GJ 1214b is less hot than expected and surprisingly shiny. The planet is bigger than rocky planets like Earth but smaller than any of our system's ice or gas giants. The telescope detected infrared light, which showed that the planet must be highly reflective and able to scatter back about half of the incoming energy. Scientists are now trying to understand what the clouds or hazes in the atmosphere are made of. The planet's atmosphere is not hydrogen-rich, suggesting it's not just a scaled-down Neptune, and there was evidence of water vapor and methane.

via NPR|

#astronomy #gj-1214b #james-webb-space-telescope