Astronomers discover the strongest exoplanet element. WASP-76 b and WASP 121 b are the two exoplanets that were seen. The element is barium. Barium weighs 2.5 times as much as iron.

The Very Large Telescope in Chile was used to study the atmospheres of WASP-76 b and WASP 121 b.

Scientists are still trying to figure out what keeps barium from sinking on these planets.

Key facts!

• The fact that barium can be found in the atmospheres of WASP-76 b and WASP 121 b is important.
• This is because it is the heaviest element ever found in the atmosphere of a planet that orbits a star other than the sun.
• The discovery could tell us more about the strange places around hot Jupiters, which are exoplanets.
• Hot Jupiters are big gas planets that orbit close to their stars.
• The side of Hot Jupiter that faces its stars during the day is very hot, while the side that faces space at night is not as hot.
• Astronomers have already found that WASP-76 b can get as hot as 2,400 degrees Celsius during the day, which is hot enough to turn iron and other metals into gas.
• This “iron rain” happens when the vaporised iron is blown to the cooler nightside of WASP-76 b, where it condenses into a liquid and then falls as rain.

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