2023-04-27 12:58:05
KELT-9 b orbits its distant star about 670 light-years from Earth and has an average temperature of 4,000 degrees Celsius.
The confines of the galaxy keep curious secrets that, thanks to technological advances, are gradually revealed. The latest spectacular find, carried out by researchers from the Lund University in Sweden thanks to a new method of analysis, is the discovery of terbio in the atmosphere of an exoplanet for the first time.
KELT-9 b it is the hottest exoplanet in the galaxy and orbits its distant star about 670 light-years from Earth. The celestial body, with an average temperature of a staggering 4,000 degrees Celsius, has thrilled the world’s astronomers since its discovery in 2016. The new study, accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysicsreveals discoveries about the atmosphere of this torrid world.
“We have developed a new method that makes it possible to obtain more detailed information. Using this, we have discovered seven elements, including the rare substance terbium, which has never before been found in the atmosphere of any exoplanet,” it says in a statement. Nicholas Borsatoastrophysics student at Lund University.
Terbium is a rare earth metal that belongs to the so-called lanthanoids. The substance was discovered in 1843 by the Swedish chemist Carl Gustaf Mosander at the Ytterby mine in the Stockholm archipelago. The substance is very rare in nature, and 99% of the world’s terbium production today takes place in the mining district of Terbium. After Obo in Inner Mongolia. “Finding terbium in the atmosphere of an exoplanet is very surprising,” says Nicholas Borsato.
Most exoplanets are discovered by astronomers who measure the brightness of the stars. When an exoplanet passes in front of its star, the star’s brightness decreases. Thanks to their advanced measurement method, the researchers have succeeded in filtering out the dominant signals in the atmosphere of KELT-9 b. This opens the possibility of knowing more about the atmospheres of other exoplanets.
“Learning more about the heavier elements helps us, among other things, to determine the age of exoplanets and how they formed“, explains Nicholas Borsato. “Detecting heavy elements in the atmospheres of ultrahot exoplanets is another step in learning how planetary atmospheres work. The better we know these planets, the better chances we have of finding the Tierra 2.0 in the future,” he concludes.
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