Artist’s impression of exoplanet KELT-9b (right) and its host star KELT-9
Artist's impression of exoplanet KELT-9b ( right ) and its host star KELT-9 - An international team of researchers, led by astronomers from the University of Amsterdam, has directly demonstrated the presence of iron in the atmosphere of an exoplanet for the first time. The researchers discovered emission lines of uncharged iron atoms in the light spectrum of KELT-9b. The observation was complicated as the exoplanet is outshone by its bright host star. The exoplanet KELT-9b orbits around its star KELT-9 in 36 hours. The star and planet are located at a distance of approximately 620 light-years from Earth in the Cygnus constellation. The star has a temperature of over 10,000 degrees, almost twice as hot as the sun. The planet KELT-9b is bigger than Jupiter.
TO READ THIS ARTICLE, CREATE YOUR ACCOUNT
And extend your reading, free of charge and with no commitment.
