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Illustration of the exoplanet KELT-9b orbiting its host star KELT-9.
KELT-9b boasts an average temperature of 4,000 degrees Celsius and orbits the parent star KELT-9 at a distance of approximately 670 light-years from Earth. Since its discovery in 2016, this exoplanet has continuously captured the attention of astronomers.
In a recent study published in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics, scientists have, for the first time, detected the rare earth metal terbium in the atmosphere of KELT-9b.
“We have developed a new method that allows us to gather more detailed information. Using this method, we found 7 elements, including terbium, a rare substance never before found in the atmosphere of any exoplanet,” said Nicholas Borsato, an astronomy physics research student at Lund University and a member of the research team.
Terbium was originally discovered by Swedish chemist Carl Gustaf Mosander at the Ytterby mine in the Stockholm archipelago in 1843. It is exceedingly rare, with 99% of the world’s terbium production occurring at the Bayan Obo mining site in Inner Mongolia.
Traditionally, exoplanets are detected by measuring the brightness of their parent stars. When an exoplanet passes in front of its parent star, the star’s brightness diminishes. Thanks to the new method employed by the research team, signals in the atmosphere of KELT-9b can be filtered, opening up possibilities for further insights into the atmospheres of other planets.
“Gaining a deeper understanding of heavier elements helps us determine the age and formation process of exoplanets. The discovery of heavy elements in the atmosphere of a super-hot exoplanet is a step forward in our quest to explore planetary atmospheres. The more we learn about these planets, the greater the chances of finding Earth 2.0 in the future,” Borsato stated.