Astronomers have found an exoplanet in the Milky Way Galaxy that has been described as the universe's "most reflective natural object" because it resembles a "giant mirror".,
Astronomers announced that the exoplanet called LTT9779b is located about 264 light-years from Earth and completes its orbit of a Sun-like star in 19 hours.
Data from the European Space Agency's CHEOPS Telescope were used in the research.
It was stated that the diameter of the exoplanet is about 4.7 times larger than the Earth, and that it orbits around its star in a closer orbit than Mercury's distance from the Sun. For this reason, ıt was stated that on one side it was constantly day and on the other side it was constantly night.
It was noted that LTT9779b is thought to be surrounded by metallic clouds of titanium and silicates, and therefore reflects about 80 percent of incoming light, making the exoplanet "the most reflective natural object" in the universe.
The surface of LTT9779b was stated to be at a temperature of 1800 degrees Celsius, which is even higher than molten lava due to intense radiation from its star.
One of the authors of the study, Prof. Dr. James Jenkins made the statement., "LTT9779b is a giant mirror in space. We think clouds on the planet could condense into droplets and rain titanium in parts of the atmosphere."
From the Côte d'Azur Observatory in France, Prof. Dr. Vivien Parmentier said "Although it's a planet that shouldn't exist, its super-reflective cloud cover is probably preventing the planet from getting too hot and destroying its atmosphere,"
Parmentier added that all other planets at this temperature, which are large enough to hold their atmospheres, do not see clouds due to the temperature and therefore they are dark like coal, and LTT9779b is a unique example in this respect.
