(R. Hurt (IPAC), NASA/JPL-Caltech)The hottest planet ever discovered orbits a massive star so sizzling it burns bluish white. (The hottest temperatures, then, are found in KELT-9b's dayside atmosphere, the half of the planet facing its star.) Fortney, who was not directly involved with this paper, was asked to model KELT-9b's atmosphere. A planet's atmosphere is typically made up of molecules, which are made up of atoms bound together. “We don't know enough” to suggest that radiation is stripping KELT-9b's atmosphere, he said.

Source: Washington Post June 05, 2017 15:05 UTC