Researchers observe iron in exoplanetary atmosphere
Wednesday, May 13, 2020 - 10:00
in Astronomy & Space
An international team of researchers, led by astronomers from the University of Amsterdam, has directly demonstrated the presence of iron in the atmosphere of an exoplanet for the first time. The researchers discovered emission lines of uncharged iron atoms in the light spectrum of KELT-9b. The observation was complicated as the exoplanet is outshined by its bright host star.