Taylor Bell of McGill University and the Institute for Research on Exoplanets in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, has discovered an exoplanet that traps 94% of the visible light falling into its atmosphere.

WASP-12b

This newly discovered exoplanet is designated as WASP-12b. It is 1,400 light-years away in the constellation of Auriga. Subsequent observations of WASP-12b have reveal that the planets atmosphere is slowly being expelled from the exoplanet onto the star it orbits.

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"Hot Jupiters"

WASP-12b is in a class of exoplanets called "Hot Jupiters". It is twice the size of Jupiter.

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"Hot Jupiters" are gigantic, gaseous planets that are heated to extreme temperatures due to their close proximity to the host star.

Typical "Hot Jupiter" exoplanets reflect about 40% of the light falling onto its atmosphere. Unlike other "Hot Jupiters" WASP-12b traps 94% of the visible light falling into its atmosphere.

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The light penetrating the atmosphere is absorbed by hydrogen atoms and coverted into heat energy. The daylight side of WASP-12b reaches 4,600 degrees Fahrenheit. But there is no relief on its night side where it reaches 2,200 degrees Fahrenheit.

Sources and Full Articles

NASA's Hubble Captures Blistering Pitch-Black Planet, NASA, 14 September 2017

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