Wednesday, July 12, 2023

You Aren't Going To Miss...

 ...this exoplanet. It's shiny. It's really shiny. It's albedo is 80%...that's the amount of light reflected. For contrast, the Earth's albedo is 31%, and Earth is already kind of shiny.

It shouldn't exist. The reflective nature comes from metallic clouds that rain titanium. Yeah, this is a pretty hot place. Like most really weird exoplanets, it's a gas giant in a tight orbit...19 hours around a sun-like star. It's five times the size of Earth, a small gas giant. And it actually shouldn't have an atmosphere.

Except that with an 80% albedo what's under the clouds is cool enough to hold an atmosphere.

By the way, the second shiniest planet discovered...Venus with its 75% albedo. That's why it's so bright in the sky. It's shiny.

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