Astronomers detect first carbon-rich exoplanet
Wednesday, December 8, 2010 - 14:32
in Astronomy & Space
Astronomers have discovered that a huge, searing-hot planet orbiting another star is loaded with an unusual amount of carbon. The planet, a gas giant named WASP-12b, is the first carbon-rich world ever observed. The discovery was made using NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, along with previously published ground-based observations.