Scientists have found the element terbium for the first time in the atmosphere of KELT-9b, one of the hottest exoplanets ever recorded.
Illustration of exoplanet KELT-9b orbiting host star KELT-9. Video : NASA
KELT-9b has an average temperature of 4,000 degrees Celsius, orbiting the host star KELT-9 about 670 light years from Earth. This exoplanet has always been an attractive object for astronomers since its discovery in 2016.
In a new study published in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics , scientists have detected the rare earth metal terbium in the atmosphere of KELT-9b for the first time.
"We developed a new method that allows us to collect more detailed information. Using this method, we detected seven elements, including terbium, a rare element that has never been found in the atmosphere of any exoplanet," said Nicholas Borsato, a PhD student in astrophysics at Lund University and a member of the research team.
Swedish chemist Carl Gustaf Mosander discovered terbium at the Ytterby mine, Stockholm archipelago, in 1843. Terbium is very rare and 99% of the world 's terbium production takes place at the Bayan Obo mining area in Inner Mongolia.
Typically, exoplanets are detected by measuring the brightness of stars. When an exoplanet passes in front of its host star, the star's brightness decreases. With the team's new method, signals in KELT-9b's atmosphere can be sifted out, opening up the possibility of learning more about the atmospheres of other planets.
"Learning more about heavier elements helps us determine the ages of exoplanets and how they formed. The discovery of heavy elements in the atmospheres of super-hot exoplanets is a step forward in understanding planetary atmospheres. The more we understand about these planets, the better our chances of finding Earth 2.0 in the future," Borsato said.
Thu Thao (According to Interesting Engineering )
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