Astronomers discovered heavy rear earth element in the atmosphere of 556 light years distant Exoplanet for the first time.
In the atmosphere of an exoplanet located 556 light years away, a heavy rear earth element was first found by astronomers.
Recently, astronomers have made a remarkable discovery: they have detected samarium(Sm) in the atmosphere of an exoplanet for the first time. The exoplanet, named MASCARA-4b, is an ultra-hot Jupiter located about 556 light years away from Earth. It orbits a bright A-type young star every 2.82 days and has a temperature of 2,250 K. Using a high-resolution spectrograph called ESPRESSO on the Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile, the researchers observed two transits of MASCARA-4b and measured the starlight passing through its atmosphere. They found traces of several heavy elements, including rubidium, titanium and barium, but samarium was the heaviest one ever detected on an exoplanet.
Samarium (Sm) is a rare earth element with an atomic number of 62 and a silvery-white appearance. It has a hardness and density similar to zinc, and a boiling point of 1,794 °C, making it the third most volatile lanthanide after ytterbium and europium. Samarium is mostly found in the Earth's crust, where it occurs in minerals such as cerite, gadolinite, samarskite, monazite and bastnäsite. Samarium has various applications in magnets, lasers, nuclear reactors, medicine and optics.
This discovery is significant because it can help us understand how planets form and evolve over time. Samarium is thought to be produced by supernova explosions and distributed by stellar winds and interstellar dust. Finding it on MASCARA-4b suggests that this exoplanet was enriched by nearby supernovae or that it accreted material from its host star or other planets during its formation. Moreover, samarium can provide clues about the chemical processes and dynamics of the exoplanet's atmosphere, such as ionization, dissociation and condensation.
The researchers plan to conduct more observations to confirm and quantify the presence of samarium and other elements on MASCARA-4b. They also hope to find more exoplanets with heavy elements in their atmospheres using ESPRESSO and other instruments. By studying these exotic worlds, we can learn more about the diversity and history of planetary systems in our galaxy.