Cognitive Labs

The new Kepler Space Telescope has just revealed a planet unlike any other.



Termed HAT-P-7b, the planet has a disparity of 1300 degrees F between its coolest and warmest spots, a greater range than anything in the solar system.

The atmosphere according to instrument analysis appears to contain a different mix than the Hydrogen dominant atmosphere of Jupiter; in this case Titanium Oxide. On Earth, this substance is the leading ingredient in white paint and industrial coatings and in crystalline form, the component of the minerals rutile and anatase, amethyst-like octahedron structures that occur naturally in gem-bearing areas. So, we might conclude that this planet is like a giant, superheated paintball.

The parent star, GSC03547-01402, has an apparent magnitude of 10.5 and is 1000 light years away (I earlier reported it at 320, using an older source) in the constellation Cygnus. It would be visible in a scope of 3 or 4 inch aperture, at minimum.

Labels: cygnus, HAT-P-7B, kepler, oxide, titanium