In 2016, astronomers were amazed when their discovered KELT-9b, the hottest planet in the known universe. And just when you thought it couldn’t get hotter, here it is ripping apart its own atmosphere.
New research shows that not only is this planet hotter than most stars, with vaporised iron and rare Earth metals in its atmosphere, its heat is so intense that it experiences planet-wide meltdowns that tear apart the molecules in that atmosphere.
No other exoplanet we've discovered gets anywhere close to being this metal.
Yes, you read it right. Clocking at 4,300°C (7,800°F), the exoplanet is said to be “hotter than at 80% of all known stars”.
More details of how hot it really is over at Science Alert.
Burn, baby, burn!
(Image Credit: NASA/ JPL-Caltech)
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hey hot stuff
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