Sydney, June 2 -- Astronomers have detected silicon monoxide gas in the atmosphere of a planet 850 lightyears from Earth, the first time the gas has ever been observed on any planet, including those in the solar system.
According to a press release from the University of Newcastle in Australia on Monday, the research offers unprecedented insight into the formation and atmospheric chemistry of exoplanet WASP-121b, also known as Tylos.
The planet, discovered in 2015, is an ultra-hot gas giant similar in size to Jupiter but far hotter, with temperatures exceeding 2,500 degrees Celsius, the release said.
The international team, led by Tom Evans-Soma from the University of Newcastle and involved 18 institutions across Australia, Germany, the ...