A study just published in the journal Astronomy and astrophysics revealed that Planet LTT9779 bwhich was discovered and began to be studied in 2020 on a mission from US space agency (NASA)able to Reflect 80% of the light A star at the center of your solar system. The effect, shown in the animation that is part of the study, is a A large mirror ball spinning in space.
Until then, it was the brightest planet ever discovered by humans Venus, Which belong to the same solar system as Earth and are even capable of reflection 75% of the sun’s brightness. By comparison, our planet reflects only 35% of the sunlight.
Although the reflective capabilities of LTT9779b and Venus are similar, their effect in space is very different. This is because the star being studied has it More than three times the size Former first place in the ranking of the brightest planets.
While the diameter of Venus is approximately 12,104 kilometers, Venus LTT9779 b is about the same size as Neptune (49,244 km in diameter). It should be noted that Neptune is the fourth largest planet in our solar system, after only Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus, which are the first three, respectively.
The reason why LTT9779 b has this reversible ability, according to the scientists who signed the study, is metallic clouds that surround you. They are mainly made of silicate – the same material as sand and glass – mixed with Metals such as titanium. In addition, the planet has not yet completely undergone the cooling process.
See animation:
Imagine in a world on fire
says James Jenkins, an astronomer at Diego Portales University and CATA in Santiago, Chile, and co-author of the science article.
According to scientists, the part of the light that is reflected by an object is called “albedo”. Most planets have a low albedo“either because its atmosphere absorbs a lot of light, or because its surface is dark or rough.”
Exceptions tend to be ice worlds Or planets like Venus that have it reflective cloud layer. The high albedo of LTT9779 b was a surprise. After all, the side of the planet facing the star of its solar system is there The temperature is estimated at about 2000 degrees Celsius.
According to a text published in the scientific journal, any temperature above 100 degrees Celsius is too hot for water clouds to form, but the temperature of the atmosphere of this planet must be too hot for clouds made of metal or glass.
“It was really a puzzle, until we realized that we should think of cloud formation in the same way as the condensation that forms in a bathroom after a hot shower,” says Vivian Parmentier, a researcher at the Côte d’Azur Observatory (France). ) and co-author of the research.
“To steam a bath, you can either cool the air until the water vapor condenses, or you can keep the water hot until clouds form, because the air is too steamy to hold any more. In this way, LTT9779 b can form metal clouds even though it is so hot.” Because the atmosphere is saturated with silicate and metal fumes, ”explains the expert.
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