Astronomers are able to learn much about planets with very little. A team of scientists, in this specific instance, had the ability to figure out that an exoplanet’s sky is blue. This planet includes the smallest on which Rayleigh scattering has been detected.
This discovery was probable due to the network at Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope. The astronomers monitored scattering on small particles inside the exoplanet environment, and they witnessed that these molecules scattered around blue light more.
Blue skies, unfortunately, do not equate to an environment such as ours. This exoplanet likely has a helium/hydrogen-dominated environment with hazes and high altitude clouds, according to research published inside the Astrophysical Journal. The scientists admit that it is probable the planet possesses an atmosphere robust in molecules like methane and water, yet they aren’t confident that the features viewed inside its light spectrum is real.
This planet, named GJ 3470b, will orbit a red dwarf that is 50% the Sun’s mass. This star possesses a temperature of around 6,000°Farhenheit and this planet will orbit around its star each 3 Earth days. Being so near to the star, the planet is very hot and called a hot Neptune.
The research is the initial high confidence detection of an exoplanet environment features utilizing observations that were taken with just 3.3’ and 6.6’ telescopes, showcasing the importance of meter class astronomy within boosting our comprehension of the universe.