KELT-9b is a hot Jupiter extrasolar planet that orbits the late B-type/early A-type star KELT-9, located about 670 light-years from Earth in the constellation Cygnus. Detected using the Kilodegree Extremely Little Telescope, KELT-9b was announced in 2016. [1][2]
Overview[]
KELT-9b is an extremely hot gas giant. It is the hottest known exoplanet , and has a dayside temperature of ~4,600 K, which is warmer than some cooler M type stars like UY sucti and Antares the planet is tidally locked to its star. [2] It is losing its atmosphere at a rapid rate. The atmospheric loss rate of KELT-9b was estimated to be equal to 18 - 68 Earth masses per billion years as of 2020.[3]