An international team of astronomers using the CHEOPS space telescope during the study found that exoplanet LTT9779b, raining from molten titanium, has the highest reflectivity ever observed outside the solar system. The results of the research were published in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics.
Comparable to the size of Neptune, exoplanet LTT9779b is located 260 light-years from Earth. It reflects up to 80% of the light falling on it from the main star.
LTT9779b is so close to the star that one rotation takes 19 hours. Previously, at such a distance, experts have only discovered rocky planets, as well as gas giant planets that are 10 times larger than Earth.
The planet’s daytime temperature is 2,000 degrees Celsius, which is too hot for clouds to form. But astronomers have found signs of their presence in LTT9779b’s atmosphere. Experts believe that high temperatures contribute to the melting and evaporation of metals and silicates, which oversaturate the atmosphere and form metal clouds.
Earlier astronomers discovered two new Neptune six exoplanets.