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Space & Astronomy

Scientists find hottest known extrasolar world

By T.K. Randall
June 5, 2017 · Comment icon 9 comments

The planet is hotter than most of the stars in the universe. Image Credit: David A. Aguilar
At twice the size of Jupiter, KELT-9b experiences temperatures in excess of 4300 degrees Celsius.
Discovered by a team of astronomers using the Kilodegree Extremely Little Telescope (KELT), the new planet was particularly challenging to detect due to its high brightness and rotational speed.

To find it, Professor B. Scott Gaudi at Ohio State University and colleagues observed a dip in the light coming from its parent star which is situated around 650 light years away.

"In some sense, it's a race to the bottom: finding the smallest planets around the smallest stars because those are the ones that might be habitable," he said.
"What our collaboration likes to say is that there's room at the top."

KELT-9b however, being the warmest planet ever discovered, is anything but habitable.

"This planet is much hotter than most stars in the universe," said Harvard University's David Charbonneau. "It is intriguing to consider how it formed and what its ultimate fate will be."

Source: New Scientist | Comments (9)




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Recent comments on this story
Comment icon #1 Posted by Unfortunately 7 years ago
Barbeque anyone? Everything is extremely well done with deliciously inedible charcoal flavours .
Comment icon #2 Posted by Athena1979 7 years ago
It's getting hot in here...so take off all your clothes.... (because they are on fire)
Comment icon #3 Posted by coolguy 7 years ago
Is it hoter then our sun?.
Comment icon #4 Posted by Unfortunately 7 years ago
Our sun has around 5500 Celsius surface temperatures I'm fairly sure, so not quite 
Comment icon #5 Posted by taniwha 7 years ago
This sounds more like a sun than a planet.
Comment icon #6 Posted by Waspie_Dwarf 7 years ago
Not if you know what suns and planets actually are. Stars (suns) generate heat by nuclear fusion at their core, planets do not. Since this planet is generating no heat of it's own and is hot only due to it's proximity to a star it sounds nothing like a star. Come on taniwha, this is pretty basic stuff even by your standards.
Comment icon #7 Posted by taniwha 7 years ago
Thanks for that. 
Comment icon #8 Posted by coolguy 7 years ago
Thanks
Comment icon #9 Posted by highdesert50 7 years ago
Tidal locked and wondering about other parallels with mercury -- magnetic field yielding a weak atmosphere, large core. These extreme planets are interesting.


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