In a first, astronomers find Iron on new 'Ultra-hot' Exoplanet, twice the size of Jupiter

In a recent development, a group of international astronomers discovered a new ultra-hot exoplanet twice the size of Jupiter. The newly found planet has said to have an interesting characteristic atmosphere containing neutral iron. In a paper published on August 25, detailed information on the recent discovery has been provided about the hot planet. 

Confirming the same, the researchers wrote, "We show the discovery of TOI1518b, a superhot Jupiter orbiting a bright star (V = 8.95). It was confirmed with EXPRES high-resolution optical transmission spectra, which was transiting planets." They further stated that the planet orbits the rapidly rotating FO host star F0 in 1.9 days and experiences intense radiation. It should be noted that the TESS data shows a clear secondary solar eclipse with a depth of 364 ± 28 ppm, and the phase curve signal is significant, from which the relative diurnal planetary flux difference was obtained. 

New ultra-hot extrasolar planet

While NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) was observing a bright star called TOI-1518, a transit signal was identified in the light curve of the object. Later on, it was confirmed the finding of a new exoplanet with super high temperature. Furthermore, it was also found that the planet's size is two times larger than Jupiter and has a misaligned orbit. Its characteristics are very similar to the other planets in the solar system but have fewer orbital periods. 

Later on, this finding was reported by a group of International astronomers from Yale University. They confirmed the discovery of the new exoplanet (TOI-1518b) by high-resolution observations taken with the EXPRES spectrograph. 

(Image credit: Cabot et al., 2021)

Based on the findings, the astronomers said that it has an equilibrium temperature of 2,492 Kelvin (K) and a measured day temperature of 3,237 Kelvin (K) which further suggests a thermal inversion. However, further details are yet to be confirmed after proper observations.

It's also very interesting to note that Astronomers also detected Iron in the exoplanet's atmosphere. After conducting an atmospheric cross-correlation analysis, the team found neutral iron in the atmosphere of TOI1518b.

Speaking on the same, the researchers said, "We have used high-resolution transmission spectroscopy to find neutral and ionized Fe in the atmosphere of the companion star. (...) We detected neutral iron (5.2σ), Kp = 157 km / s and Vsys = -16 km /s, add another object from a small sample of a highly radiant gas giant planet with transmission iron detection."

(Image Credits: PhysOrg/Pixabay)